Remarks at the Opening of the Taxpayer Service Center

Remarks of USAID Albania Director Edward T. Landau
Taxpayer Service Center Dedication
October 15, 2007

Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Deputy Minister, Mr. Minister, Ms. General Director, honored guests, GDT staff,

I am pleased to be here to help inaugurate this new building and particularly the Directorate of Taxpayer Services. 

This Directorate was made operational under our $14 million Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Agreement with the Government of Albania, administered by USAID. This program along with U.S. Government efforts to spur economic growth, democracy strengthening, and improved health are having signature impacts in Albania.

Our shared purpose in this activity is to increase efficiency and reduce corruption in tax administration so citizens can see and feel the benefits. We are now reaping the fruits of that partnership.

Over the next few months, large taxpayers will begin to file and pay their VAT taxes through a secure and simple online process. This process will reduce the informal contacts that in the past created opportunities for abuse. This process makes relations between taxpayers and tax authorities more transparent.

Although the service center serves the large business taxpayers, it is open to the public and allows large businesses to receive tax forms, information and advice from trained professionals. Before this project concludes next year, we’ll work with the Albanian Government to open another service center located in the Tirana Tax Office that will serve small and medium sized businesses.

These steps help Albania create a law-abiding environment friendly to business and investment. They help reshape an archaic tax administration into a more efficient and publicly accessible institution staffed by professionals who – like this building – are dedicated to serving the public. 

But these steps make up only half of a contract.  As Government serves taxpayers better, taxpayers must embrace their civic responsibilities, their half of the contract. They must respect principles like voluntary reporting and compliance, principles that make modern tax systems work.

I’d like to commend the Government for the leadership and collaboration that created this center. This step, along with the advances in business registration and public procurement, demonstrate Albania’s strong commitment to fighting corruption and modernization.

Over the next year, we’ll deepen our partnership with the tax administration. Together, we’ll see the benefits, not just to businesses and taxpayers, but to all Albanians in all walks of life.