The tax burden of a freelancer in Albania is higher compared to Kosovo and the countries of the region, such as North Macedonia and Montenegro.

In Albania, businesses with an annual income of up to Euro 140,000 are taxed at 15%, while businesses with an annual turnover of over Euro 140,000 are taxed at 23%.

In Montenegro, taxation is zero for self-employed businesses with income up to Euro 8,400 per year. For businesses with a turnover of Euro 8,401 to Euro 12,000, taxation is 9%. For businesses with an annual turnover over Euro 12,000, the tax is 15%.

In Kosovo, for businesses and the self-employed with an annual income of up to Euro 960, taxation is zero. For the second level which belongs to the annual turnover category of Euro 961 to Euro 3,000 per year, the tax is 4%.

For businesses with turnover from Euro 3,001 to Euro 5,400 per year, taxation is 8%. As for businesses with a turnover over Euro 5400, the tax is 10%.

In North Macedonia, businesses with an annual turnover of up to Euro 17,080, the tax is 10%. Above Euro 17,080 annual turnover, the tax is 18%.

For many of the businesses in the IT sector, setting higher tax rates than Kosovo or other countries far from the Balkan region, such as Estonia and Georgia, Albania loses its competitiveness and strategic position in the Balkans to provide innovative services for Europe and the American market with free cost. Consequently, after the 15% taxation, many people have a passion for engineering, as self-employed, who are already looking towards Kosovo or further afield for opening a business, due to more favorable fiscal policies.

A survey from Monitor showed that 23% of the respondents were thinking of closing the activity, where 17.5% of them said they would close or suspend the activity, while another 5.4% said that in addition to closing the business, they would leave the country. Kosovo, Estonia, and Georgia were the most considered choices for business transfer.

Lawyer Sajmir Laçej said that out of 29,000 self-employed professionals, only 169 have an income of over Euro 140,000 per year, which is claimed to pay 23%. According to him, if this is not reflected in to review of the legal provisions for freelancers, several negative effects will follow.