The head of the Democratic Party’s Parliamentary Group, Gazment Bardhi, has criticized the government over the high price of fuel in Albania, calling for intervention through tax cuts.

In a statement on social media, Bardhi said that diesel in the country is among the most expensive in the region. According to him, the price of one liter reaches 219 lekë, while around 100 lekë consists of fiscal obligations, including the excise duty, circulation tax, carbon tax and VAT.

He accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of failing to use mechanisms to mitigate the impact of rising prices on citizens. Bardhi argued that whenever fuel prices rise, consumers pay more and, consequently, the government collects more revenue without returning it in the form of relief for citizens.

STATEMENT: THE FUEL ALGORITHM AND EDI RAMA’S ALGORITHM

According to Bardhi, Edi Rama’s governance has for years relied on several “algorithms”: those of corruption, organized crime, money laundering and taxation.

All of these, he continued, constitute a scheme in which citizens pay increasingly more while receiving increasingly less from the government.

To understand this situation, Bardhi said it is enough to look at the price displayed at the nearest fuel station, where one liter of diesel is sold for as much as 219 lekë.

He described the calculation of the fuel price as simple: of the 219 lekë paid by citizens, around 100 lekë goes toward the excise duty, circulation tax, carbon tax and VAT.

“When the price rises, citizens pay more. When citizens pay more, the government collects more,” Bardhi said, adding that the government benefits from this increase but provides citizens with no relief in return.

According to him, this approach is linked to the fact that citizens’ well-being is not a priority for Edi Rama. Bardhi claimed that the additional millions collected from the rise in fuel prices are used to finance corruption through tenders worth two to three times more than they should be, as, according to him, has been seen in the files involving Belinda Balluku and Ergys Agasi.

Bardhi rejected the justification that prices have risen everywhere, asking why fuel is cheaper in other countries in the region. He said their governments have used mechanisms to cushion or limit the increase, while in Albania people are expected to wait for the price to reach 220 lekë per liter before action is taken on the excise duty.

B – BELIEF? Wait until it reaches 220 lekë/liter.

E – EMPATHY? Zero tax cuts.

S – SERVICE? 219 lekë/liter.

A – COMMITMENT? More profits for the government.

Three months ago, according to Bardhi, Edi Rama voted against the Democratic Party’s proposal to lower fuel prices through two measures.

The first proposal was to cut the circulation tax, while the second called for the creation of an automatic mechanism. If the state collected more VAT because of the rise in fuel prices, the additional revenue would be returned to citizens through a reduction in the excise duty.

Bardhi said there is still an opportunity to change this situation and implement the proposal rejected three months ago. But, according to him, this requires changing the “main algorithm”: making fuel Edi Rama’s problem.

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