Armenia’s Deputy Finance Minister Arman Poghosyan had a meeting with representatives of soft drink companies who held today a protest against the excise tax on soft drinks proposed under the amendment to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia. During the discussion, the parties touched upon the issues that might arise due to the introduction of an excise tax on soft drinks.

The deputy minister informed that the amendment is proposed based on two considerations. The first is the fiscal goal based on the increase of additional tax revenues that will provide the opportunity to partially compensate for the loss of tax revenues in the state budget that will emerge as a result of reduction of direct taxes. The second is the healthcare goal that implies reduction of the amount of consumption of products implying harmful consumption.

The representatives of the soft drink companies suggest returning to the initial version of the draft law, that is, apply the excise tax by taking into consideration the amount of sugar in the ingredients.

After the discussion, the parties reached an agreement according to which the Ministry of Finance will consider the recommendations of the companies with other interested government agencies and present the results of the discussion to the representatives of companies on 12 March.