By Smbat Grigoryan

YEREVAN. – According to official data, tax revenues of Armenia’s state budget have fallen by 0.2 percent, on a yearly basis, from January and October.

This regression can be partly explained by external factors, such as the drop in the world copper prices.

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Another factor is the reduction in private remittances to Armenia from abroad, especially from Russia, in the last two years. This led to a considerable drop in the income—and, consequently, spending—of the families receiving these remittances. As a result, the turnover of trade and several services have reduced, and this has led to a drop in the tax base of this domain.

In addition, the number of imported cars has decreased, and this has caused a drop in their import tax and payments.   

Against the backdrop of these negative phenomena, major shortcomings have been revealed in Armenia’s tax policy, especially in terms of taxation of the dividends of individuals; these dividends are not taxed in Armenia.