Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
Armenia’s new bill on introducing the money transfer taxation mechanism is the next step of the country’s government, aimed at robbing its own population, famous Ukrainian expert Alexander Okhrimenko told Trend.
A compulsory tax is introduced for all citizens from 18 to 65 years old in Armenia from 2020, the Armenian media reported. That is, every citizen who receives income from outside undertakes to declare it and pay 23 percent of income tax to the state.
“The implementation of this document will primarily have a negative impact on the poor,” Okhrimenko said.
“The Armenian government is unable to bring the country's economy out of a protracted crisis and is already using any means to close budget gaps,” he added. “First, the government decided to squeeze entrepreneurs and oligarchs, now it’s time for ordinary citizens.”
“The desperate steps of the authorities testify that the Armenian economy is indeed in a hopeless state and this may drag on for many years,” Okhrimenko said.
"According to the new law, all citizens of Armenia from 18 to 65 years old must submit declarations of their income, which means that an ordinary inhabitant in a village or in a region, having sold something, must declare every penny of profit and send 23 percent of income to the treasury,” he added.
“Perhaps if such a tough law is adopted, a new wave of protests may begin in Armenia, which will further aggravate the shaky socio-economic situation in the country,” Okhrimenko said.
It is known that Armenia is among 15 countries the economy of which is maintained thanks to transfers, and its economy would have collapsed long ago without migrant workers.
According to the International Monetary Fund, in the past few years, bank transfers reached 16 percent of the country's GDP. According to the World Bank, financial receipts from abroad from migrants are comparable with the Armenian state budget.
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