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TAX AUTHORITY FINES 78 YEAR-OLD WOMAN; WITHHOLDS 1/3 OF PENSION
Grisha Balasanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/18813/tax-authority-fines-78-year-old-woman;-withholds-1/3-of-pension.html
11:32, September 25, 2012
Armenia's tax authorities have come down hard on 78 year-old pensioner
Raya Prazyan.
For the past two months they've been withholding 10,000 AMD of her
31,000 monthly pension as administrative penalties.
Mrs. Prazyan resides in the Kakhagn village in Gegharkouniq Province.
We met her in the village's only store, where she spends most of
her day.
The store serves as her only place to socialize since she has no
relatives or close friends in the village.
Mrs. Prazyan told us that she us used to own a small stall by the
school and sold candy and cakes to the kids. She added that up until
2006, when the store was ransacked and robbed, she would pay all her
taxes on time.
After the robbery, she simply stopped running the small stall. No
one told her that she was required to file a notice to that effect
with the tax authorities.
Earlier this year, Mrs. Prazyan received a notice from the Vardenis tax
office stating that they were fining her 500,000 AMD on an installment
basis. They would be withholding 10,000 every month until the total
about was paid.
"What will I eat after they hold 1/3 of my pension. That works out
to less than 1,000 a month. Do I have to go out and collect wood to
live," asked an emotional Mrs. Prazyan.
The senior citizen lives alone. Her only child, a daughter, lives
in Russia. There is no one to assist Mrs. Prazyan who has limited
mobility due to the swelling in her feet and ankles.
While the state has seen fit to cut the senior's pension by 1/3,
it has yet to make good on its obligation to repair the roof of Mrs.
Prazyan's house damaged in a 2008 storm. The house is uninhabitable
and the woman now lives in house that a neighbor has temporarily
placed at her disposal.
Neighbors say that they have applied to all appropriate government
agencies to no avail. No one from the government has even inquired
as to her housing situation.
We spoke with village Mayor Gagik Petrosyan. He could offer little
in the way of details regarding Mrs. Prazyan's current dilemma.
When we asked if the village municipality was assisting the woman
in her time of need, Petrosyan replied that the village was in no
financial condition to help.
"We cannot help her. The municipality is in need of assistance
itself. We can't even pay back wages. Mrs. Prazyan has every right
to protest. She's a pensioner in a tight squeeze," commented Mayor
Petrosyan.
Grisha Balasanyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/18813/tax-authority-fines-78-year-old-woman;-withholds-1/3-of-pension.html
11:32, September 25, 2012
Armenia's tax authorities have come down hard on 78 year-old pensioner
Raya Prazyan.
For the past two months they've been withholding 10,000 AMD of her
31,000 monthly pension as administrative penalties.
Mrs. Prazyan resides in the Kakhagn village in Gegharkouniq Province.
We met her in the village's only store, where she spends most of
her day.
The store serves as her only place to socialize since she has no
relatives or close friends in the village.
Mrs. Prazyan told us that she us used to own a small stall by the
school and sold candy and cakes to the kids. She added that up until
2006, when the store was ransacked and robbed, she would pay all her
taxes on time.
After the robbery, she simply stopped running the small stall. No
one told her that she was required to file a notice to that effect
with the tax authorities.
Earlier this year, Mrs. Prazyan received a notice from the Vardenis tax
office stating that they were fining her 500,000 AMD on an installment
basis. They would be withholding 10,000 every month until the total
about was paid.
"What will I eat after they hold 1/3 of my pension. That works out
to less than 1,000 a month. Do I have to go out and collect wood to
live," asked an emotional Mrs. Prazyan.
The senior citizen lives alone. Her only child, a daughter, lives
in Russia. There is no one to assist Mrs. Prazyan who has limited
mobility due to the swelling in her feet and ankles.
While the state has seen fit to cut the senior's pension by 1/3,
it has yet to make good on its obligation to repair the roof of Mrs.
Prazyan's house damaged in a 2008 storm. The house is uninhabitable
and the woman now lives in house that a neighbor has temporarily
placed at her disposal.
Neighbors say that they have applied to all appropriate government
agencies to no avail. No one from the government has even inquired
as to her housing situation.
We spoke with village Mayor Gagik Petrosyan. He could offer little
in the way of details regarding Mrs. Prazyan's current dilemma.
When we asked if the village municipality was assisting the woman
in her time of need, Petrosyan replied that the village was in no
financial condition to help.
"We cannot help her. The municipality is in need of assistance
itself. We can't even pay back wages. Mrs. Prazyan has every right
to protest. She's a pensioner in a tight squeeze," commented Mayor
Petrosyan.