ARMENIAN TOURIST OPERATORS DISCONTENTED WITH TAX POLICY

YEREVAN, APRIL 8, NOYAN TAPAN. Head of the Department of Indirect
Taxes of the State Tax Sevice Andranik Muradian stated at the April 7
discussion that since 2004, tourism into Armenia has been exempt from
VAT, whereas VAT was imposed on tourism out of the country last year.
According to him, these changes aim to promote tourims. Yet this
explanation did not satisfy the members of the Armenian Union of
Tourist Operators into the Country who had initiated the discussion.
In particular, they underlined the necessity of granting certain tax
privileges to tourist operators in case of participating in exhibitions
and running advertizing campaign abroad. They expressed an opinion that
the maximum amount of representative costs per day abroad (which makes
50 thousand drams or abou 101 USD) needs reviewing. Director of the
company First Travel & Service Karen Andreasian touched upon another
sensative issue of the Armenian tourist operators. According to him,
tourist operators who own buses have to pay a fixed tax in the amount
of 120 thousand drams for renting a bus for a day. K Andreasian
stressed that this makes most tourist operators without autopark
bear part of the tax burden, which in its turn leads to an increase
in the tourism package cost. In his view, such taxation will result
in the closure of almost all the tourist agencies in Armenia. So it
was proposed that VAT should be introduced instead of the fixed tax
in case of motor transport rent. The Union’s executive director
Arayik Vardanian told NT correspondent that such discussions with
representatives of the Tax Service and other state bodies will make
it possible to solve somewhat the problems in the sphere. He said
that certain legislative improvements and a favorable investment
field are necessary to promote tourism into the country.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress