ARMENIA’S PRESIDENT MEETS WITH ENTREPRENEURS

YEREVAN, APRIL 13. ARMINFO. President of Armenia Robert Kocharian held
a working meeting with newly elected members of the board of Union of
Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs.

ARMINFO was informed in the press office of the president, during the
meeting the participants discussed issues concerning provision of
equal competitive conditions for business, reduction of negative
influence on the export of stabilization of national currency exchange
rate, order of import of industrial equipment and a number of other
issues. The president mentioned that steps are taken towards formation
of equal competitive conditions for entrepreneurs and liquidation of
mediation. In this connection Kocharian informed that ten Supervisory
Service of the administration of the president carried out check-ups
among the officials of tax-customs structures on the subject of
checking the business of the persons interrelated with them, as well
as the process of making public the list of 300 tax dodgers. “Here the
most simple and actual method is to ensure transparency of the sphere,
as a result of which all the deviations will be revealed, which will
increase the efficiency of the fight against them”, the president
said.

Concerning the problem of taxation when import of industrial equipment
into the republic, Robert Kocharian mentioned that a package of new
proposals regarding this issue is being prepared in association with
international financial organizations. The president also mentioned
that in parallel with the prosperity of the business, the tax payers
must pay much attention to the issue of fairly fulfillment of their
tax liabilities to the budget of the country.

It should be noted that on the results of the first quarter of the
current year the budget receipts from taxes totaled 35 bln drams
against 34 bln drams envisaged. This indicator was 6.4 bln drams more
as against the first quarter of 2004. Social payments in the reporting
period totaled 12.9 bln drams, which is 3.4 bln drams more as against
the same period of last year.