Large Companies Declare Ridiculous Salary Incomes, Ahmetaj Says

TIRANA, December 6

Numerous companies in Albania, including large ones, still fail to comply with payroll laws and pay their employees ‘under the table’. They declare only a minimum wage and pay the other part in cash. Therefore a considerable part of the wage is not reported, taxed, and declared as income. In the long term, this practice has a major impact on the pension payments.
Minister of Finances Arben Ahmetaj and Economy said during a conference on policies in work environments held on Tuesday in Tirana.
“Based on an inspection we made, findings were ridiculous and tragic. About 42 percent of employees in big companies receive a monthly wage below Lek 30,000. Could you imagine large companies that pay their financial experts or engineers a wage of Lek 27,000. This is unacceptable,” Ahmetaj said while warning for an action against informality in the labor market.
Moreover, he said that despite the improvements in the labor market, the unemployment rate and workforce qualification are still the major challenges.

News Source: financa.gov.al