Tetovo Municipality launches campaign to collect more than €6 million in unpaid taxes

Tetovo Municipality has launched a campaign to collect property taxes and other outstanding municipal obligations. The debt accumulated over the past two years exceeds €6 million, with citizens making up the majority of debtors, along with a number of private companies.

Nuredin Dehari, director of finance at Tetovo Municipality, announced that debtors have one week to settle their obligations. Otherwise, the municipality will initiate enforcement proceedings to collect the debts and unblock the municipal account.

“The total obligations of citizens and companies to Tetovo Municipality amount to 340 million denars. Most of this sum is owed by citizens who have not paid their property taxes. The remaining debt is linked to companies that have not paid the relevant fees and property taxes. The municipality has notified citizens and delivered the decisions to them. For those who were unable to receive the decisions at their addresses, a notice was sent instructing them to contact the municipality. Starting on October 1, we will begin proceedings against all those who have not paid their obligations for previous years,” Nuredin Dehari said.

In addition to their obligations to the municipality, citizens also owe more than €1 million to the “Shari” Public Utility Company, accumulated over the past two years. Unlike “Tetova” Public Utility Company, “Shari” has no outstanding liabilities and is financially stable.

Valon Zekiri said that the company currently has no active debts and recorded a surplus of more than 6 million denars during the first six months of the year. He added that collecting the outstanding obligations would enable significant investments in underground infrastructure, while stressing that salary-related problems had been overcome and that the company operates on the revenue it collects. Zekiri called on citizens with outstanding debts to contact the company’s offices and settle them.

The “Tetova” Public Utility Company continues to face problems with collections and still has a low rate of debt recovery. Nevertheless, its public debt has fallen significantly, from around €10 million in 2021 to approximately €2.6 million currently.

To help the company continue operating and consolidate its finances, Tetovo Municipality is allocating special block grants earmarked for employees’ salaries and contributions.