ARMENIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR CRACKDOWN ON TAX EVASION

Published: 2 August 2005 y., Tuesday

Armenian President Robert Kocharian instructed senior officials of the State Tax Service on 29 July to do more to tackle corporate tax evasion.

In a meeting with Armenian tax authorities, Kocharian criticized the current effort as unsatisfactory and argued that "our main enemies are favoritism and clan-style practices." He added that the continued evasion of corporate taxes was due to "government corruption and favoritism," and cited the construction sector in particular, which paid only 13 percent more in taxes despite a record expansion of over 40 percent in the first half of the year. State Tax Service Director Feliks Tsolakian explained that corruption and a pattern of conflicts of interest among his employees are a major problem and added that to date, roughly 200 tax officials have been found to be "directly or indirectly involved in business." Revenue from tax collection and customs duties account for a large portion of overall budget expenditures and are projected to increase by another 25 percent to 394.6 billion drams ($885 million) for 2005. Although the overall level of tax revenue for the first half of 2005 grew by some 24 percent, a study conducted by the presidential Oversight Service confirmed that a significant portion of economic activity in Armenia remains untaxed.

Šaltinis: RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Sustainable energy for Europe

In European sustainable energy week 2010, new EU energy commissioner presents strategy to reduce Europe’s dependence on fossil fuel. more »

EBRD’s new accountability mechanism goes into effect

The EBRD is launching a Project Complaint Mechanism, which is expected to enhance the accountability and transparency of the Bank’s operations. more »

New local currency financing for micro and small businesses in Armenia

The EBRD is boosting the availability of local currency financing in Armenia with a synthetic loan in Armenian Drams (AMD) worth $4 million to FINCA UCO CJSC for on-lending to local micro and small enterprises (MSEs). more »

Sirpa Pietikäinen on CITES: "Biodiversity at stake"

This year is the UN year of biodiversity and it brings endangered species into the spotlight. more »

Haiti: US$65 Million Grant to Restore Key State Functions and Infrastructure

The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$65 million project to support the recovery of Haiti’s critical infrastructure as well as the reestablishment of basic State functions following the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2010. more »

Haiti Sets Out on Path to Recovery with Broad International Support

Haiti’s arduous reconstruction and recovery process jolted forward today following fresh commitments to help the Caribbean nation rebuild in the wake of its devastating January 12 earthquake. more »

New IMF-Supported Program Will Strengthen Uganda’s Policy Design and Implementation Capacities in the Transition to Oil

A mission from the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Uganda during March 4-17, 2010, to conduct the seventh and final review under Uganda’s Policy Support Instrument (PSI) and reach understandings on a policy framework for a new three-year PSI to cover the period 2010 to 2013. more »

Common Agriculture Policy after 2013: free market will not save European agriculture

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), as the first EU institution, rose to the challenge of providing a comprehensive vision for the future of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), in advance of the European Commission's papers on the matter, due to be issued later this year and in 2011. more »

Europe and Central Asia Facing Energy Crunch

The outlook for primary energy supplies, heat, and electricity is questionable for the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, despite Russia and Central Asia’s current role as a major energy supplier to both Eastern and Western Europe. more »

IMF Executive Board Approves US$790 Million Stand-by Arrangement for El Salvador

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a 36-month, SDR 513.9 million (about US$790 million) Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for El Salvador to help the country mitigate the adverse effects of the global crisis. more »