YEREVAN. – Even though Armenia’s economy virtually did not grow in 2013, the taxes and duties increased by about 15 percent while the tax revenues increased by 33 percent, as compared to the previous year, Chorrord Ishkhanutyun daily reports.        

“And the government was announcing that it does not increase the tax burden. So how is it that the tax revenues increased by 33 percent? The answer is but one: the government was lying. In fact, it raised taxes—naming it tax reforms. And the tax agencies stripped off the skin of business.        

“Incidentally, the authorities are boasting in vain that the economy has not grown yet they have collected more taxes. In fact, the economy has not grown for the very reason that they have collected more taxes. And if it continues, there will not be an economy at all next year,” Chorrord Ishkhanutyun writes.