It would be hard to consider the proposal to distribute funds to all citizens of Armenia justified. This is what Minister of Finance of Armenia Atom Janjughazyan said during a discussion on the bill on making amendments and supplements to the Law on the 2020 State Budget in the second reading in parliament today, responding to the statement by leader of the Bright Armenia Party and head of the homonymous parliamentary faction Edmon Marukyan.

Bright Armenia Party had particularly recommended that the authorities provide gratuitous assistance to the population in the amount of 5-10% of the GDP. According to the finance minister, it’s not clear why the assistance should be provided and to people who have lost their jobs and those who are still employed and are receiving high salaries. The minister added that financial assistance needs to be provided to people who have lost their jobs or to companies that are trying to maintain their jobs.

As far as the unused funds of the treasury are concerned, the minister stated that the amount is not fully available for making immediate expenditures and that a part of the funds is the remainder of the loan programs for infrastructure projects.