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AT WHOSE EXPENSE WILL ARMENIA STATE REVENUE INCREASE IN 2012? ECONOMIST OFFERS OPINION
epress.am
10.19.2011
The 2012 (state) budget has no ambition whatsoever and the government
doesn't even have a desire to show that it wants to do something,
said economist, former mayor of Yerevan and current member of the
opposition bloc Armenian National Congress (HAK) Vahagn Khachatryan,
speaking to journalists in the Armenian capital today.
"They simply compiled a budget to show for the usual round," he said.
This year's budget, Khachatryan continued, plans an increase of 101
billion drams ($268.5 million USD) in revenue.
"This would seem welcoming, but looking into it further, it's a
dangerous initiative. The government didn't begin its activities
from where it should have. In the first place, the government itself
should've assessed the potential of Armenia's economy. Today it is
an approximately 10 billion dollar GDP or around 2.8 billion dollar
budget. But is it? Different international agencies say that the shadow
[economy] in Armenia is 50-70%," he said.
According to the economist, one of the "absurd" aspects of Armenia's
economy is that many importers are able to import goods 2 or 3 times
cheaper than the global market rate.
"No one would do such a favor to any businessman in Armenia. They
all buy goods from the market at the going rate, but simply import
them at a lower price - they show lower prices so that they pay less
taxes here," he said.
On the government's intention to increase revenue by 101 billion drams,
the opposition member said: "A political decision is necessary to
gather [these funds], and in making a political decision, [Armenian
President] Serzh Sargsyan has to gather all the oligarch businessmen
and say, 'That's it. From now on, we will begin to work only with
invoices.'
"That is, the black market is essentially reduced; that is, the rules
of the game change at once. But now the rules of the game haven't
changed, and the rules not having changed, a figure is given - 101
billion - and here a serious problem arises: this has to happen on
whose account? If there's no political decision, then this has to
happen at the expense of small- and medium-sized businesses; that is,
these people will once again be subject to pressure," he said.
epress.am
10.19.2011
The 2012 (state) budget has no ambition whatsoever and the government
doesn't even have a desire to show that it wants to do something,
said economist, former mayor of Yerevan and current member of the
opposition bloc Armenian National Congress (HAK) Vahagn Khachatryan,
speaking to journalists in the Armenian capital today.
"They simply compiled a budget to show for the usual round," he said.
This year's budget, Khachatryan continued, plans an increase of 101
billion drams ($268.5 million USD) in revenue.
"This would seem welcoming, but looking into it further, it's a
dangerous initiative. The government didn't begin its activities
from where it should have. In the first place, the government itself
should've assessed the potential of Armenia's economy. Today it is
an approximately 10 billion dollar GDP or around 2.8 billion dollar
budget. But is it? Different international agencies say that the shadow
[economy] in Armenia is 50-70%," he said.
According to the economist, one of the "absurd" aspects of Armenia's
economy is that many importers are able to import goods 2 or 3 times
cheaper than the global market rate.
"No one would do such a favor to any businessman in Armenia. They
all buy goods from the market at the going rate, but simply import
them at a lower price - they show lower prices so that they pay less
taxes here," he said.
On the government's intention to increase revenue by 101 billion drams,
the opposition member said: "A political decision is necessary to
gather [these funds], and in making a political decision, [Armenian
President] Serzh Sargsyan has to gather all the oligarch businessmen
and say, 'That's it. From now on, we will begin to work only with
invoices.'
"That is, the black market is essentially reduced; that is, the rules
of the game change at once. But now the rules of the game haven't
changed, and the rules not having changed, a figure is given - 101
billion - and here a serious problem arises: this has to happen on
whose account? If there's no political decision, then this has to
happen at the expense of small- and medium-sized businesses; that is,
these people will once again be subject to pressure," he said.