New Taxation of Capital Gains for Foreign Companies Expected

TIRANA, October 9

So far it has been possible to avoid Albanian taxes on the sale of shares by foreign companies.
The new fiscal package drafted by the Albanian government includes a law that aims at taxing foreign companies that sell shares of companies in the country. Such sales will be subject to the Albanian income tax liability for capital gain, Top Channel reports.
This decision follows the sale of major concessionary contracts that cost the Albanian government millions of dollars in uncollected taxes.
The oil concessionary of Patos Marinza was sold for $575 million by Bankers Petroleum to Geo Jade in 2016. During the same year, the German Group Hotchief sold 100 percent of its shares in Tirana International Airport for $90 million to a Chinese company that’s part of China Everbright.
The Albanian law specifies that every company that generates capital gain from selling shares is subject to a 15 percent income tax. In the two above mentioned cases, the government didn’t make a cent due to the fact that the concessionary contracts are owned by offshore companies. Consequently, when the shares are sold, the government losses millions in uncollected taxes.
Therefore, the new legal change defines an anti-avoidance provision. It aims to combat the avoidance of tax when companies sell their shares in Albania, no matter in what country they are based.

News Source: TCh