Vlora revives the committee and takes to Flag Square. Berisha dreams of 125 MPs
VEFA brings the Government to its knees
The court penalizes transparency. Chief administrator: VEFA and Silva may return the money
Two percent of social policy
The VAT five-percent [sic] for small and medium-sized businesses. Small capitalists on the verge of bankruptcy
The reduction of the new VAT, from 22 percent, which the Government meeting had set, to 20 percent by the Socialist parliamentary group, was described by the PS Parliamentary Commission and sections of the press ... sections of the independent press as the most affectionate expression of the Government’s social policy. Angjeli even suggested to the Government that the 2 percent saved be used to protect the unemployed or citizens receiving social assistance! Having thus fulfilled their social obligation as socialists, the PS parliamentarians turned to the issue of mineral water, demanding that it be favored because it is imported from Greece and served in the “rose brioche shops.” The people were expecting poverty to be alleviated and stronger guarantees for overcoming the crisis; the Socialists are serving them new, uncontrolled taxes, conditioned by the dubious policy of the IMF mission. The newly approved fiscal package directly attacks the interests of Albanian citizens, since price increases will be felt very soon. Furthermore, the astronomical VAT will ruin small and medium-sized businesses in record time, greatly narrowing the scope for the new Albanian capitalism. The experiment that the PS is trying to carry out at the expense of Albanians demands a heavy price. This experiment risks the country’s capitalist future, since very soon the state will seek to buy the assets of bankrupt companies, reshaping the image of state-owned enterprises. The signal for this has been given by the pressure being exerted on borrowing companies to submit to nationalization. The much-discussed transparency achieves nothing more. It has been politicized by the Socialist government officials, who have appointed a partisan person as head of the “administrators.” The new VAT, which will come into effect on October 1 of this year, also dispels the few illusions Albanians had begun to nurture about the free-market economy. Now we must all prepare to face a system of ration coupons and the spirit of Socialist collectivism.
Open letter from Vehbi Almuçaj, page 7. Gramoz Ruçi appears in the assembly of men, page 3. The PS “gets up early in the morning.” Majko: Berisha—a misfortune that we have to listen to, page 4. Municipality: Bury the Greek medicines —page 7. Mazreku: I too eat 20 Hajdarë —page 16
