The oil algorithm and Edi Rama's algorithm

 

The head of the Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, Gazment Bardhi, has reacted to the increase in oil prices in Albania, accusing the government of benefiting from the high taxes paid by citizens.

In a response, Bardhi stated that the price of a liter of diesel has reached 219 lek, while according to him, about 100 lek of this price consists of taxes.

"Out of the 219 lek that citizens pay, about 100 lek are taxes: excise duty, circulation tax, carbon tax and VAT."
Bardhi argues that the more the price of fuel increases, the more revenue the government collects from taxes, while this additional revenue is not returned to citizens.

According to him, the increase in prices in international markets cannot be used as an excuse, as other countries in the region have intervened to cushion the effect on consumers.

"The fact that prices have increased everywhere is no excuse. Why is oil cheaper everywhere in the region? Because the governments there have used mechanisms that amortize the increase or limit it."
The head of the DP parliamentary group also recalled the opposition's proposal, made three months ago, to reduce the price of fuel by reducing the turnover tax and creating an automatic mechanism for returning additional VAT revenues to citizens.

Bardhi said that this proposal was rejected by the majority, while he requested that the government intervene to ease the burden on citizens.

"We still have time for the oil algorithm to change and the proposal rejected three months ago to be put into action. But to do this, we need to change the main algorithm: to make oil Edi Rama."
In his reaction, Bardhi also used a play on words with the "Besa" platform recently introduced by Prime Minister Edi Rama, linking it to the situation of fuel prices.

“B — TRUST? Wait until it goes to 220 lek/liter. E — EMPATHY? Zero tax cuts. S — SERVICE? 219 lek/liter. A — COMMITMENT? More profits for the Government.”

REACTION OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE DP PARLIAMENTARY GROUP, GAZMENT BARDHI

OIL ALGORITHM AND EDI RAMA ALGORITHM

Edi Rama has several algorithms that have been operating for years in his government.

The corruption algorithm.
The organized crime algorithm.
The money laundering algorithm.
The tax algorithm.

All together they form Edi Rama's algorithm: citizens pay more and more and receive less and less from the Government.

To understand this algorithm, we don't need anyone's theories. It's enough to look at the price chart at the nearest gas station: Up to 219 lekë for 1 liter of diesel.

The oil algorithm is quite simple.

Of the 219 lek that citizens pay, about 100 lek are taxes: excise duty, circulation tax, carbon tax, and VAT.

When the price increases, the citizen pays more. When the citizen pays more, the Government collects more. And while the Government benefits from the price increase, it does not give anything back to the citizen. 

Why did the Government make this choice?

Because Edi Rama's priority is not the welfare algorithm. With the additional millions he collects from the increase in oil prices, he finances the corruption algorithm, through tenders with values ​​2–3 times higher, as we have seen in the Belinda Balluku and Ergys Agas files.

That prices have increased everywhere is no excuse. Why is oil cheaper everywhere in the region? Because the governments there have used mechanisms that amortize the increase or limit it. In Albania, Edi Rama operates with his algorithm: he expects oil to go to 220 lek per liter and then intervenes in excise duties.

B — TRUST? Wait until it goes to 220 lek/liter.
E — EMPATHY? Zero tax cuts.
S — SERVICE? 219 lek/liter.
A — COMMITMENT? More profits for the Government.

Three months ago, Edi Rama rejected by vote the Democratic Party's proposal to reduce fuel prices through two mechanisms: 
1. Reducing the turnover tax 
2. An automatic mechanism that, when the state collects more VAT due to the increase in fuel prices, returns this additional revenue to citizens through a reduction in excise duty.

We still have time for the oil algorithm to change and the proposal rejected three months ago to be put into action. But to do this, we need to change the main algorithm: to give oil to Edi Rama.