ROBERT KOCHARIAN: SHADOW ECONOMY HUGE

Panorama.am
20:43 26/09/2007

Today President Robert Kocharian met with the leadership of the
country’s tax service. Official information has it that the president
announced that the purpose of the meeting was to discover whether the
tax officials are able to solve problems they face, and if so by what
means, and what assistance they might expect.

President Kocharian rates the most important issue to be the general
improvement of the work of the state tax service. "Tax statistics
should correspond to economic growth," he underlined. In the
president’s opinion, the shadow economy in Armenia remains large, with
people doing their best to avoid tax officials and taxes in general.

Pointing out that the issues facing the tax officials are not
unsolvable, the country’s leader said that good results would
immediately be seen with the end of the shadow economy. "There are
serious resources available, it’s just that officials must work
honestly, decisively," he emphasized.

Vahram Barseghyan, head of the state tax service, presented the work
being done as well as problems they are currently facing. Concluding
the meeting, the president stressed the need for positive change and
reform in the tax bodies, and said that solving the problems they
face should remain at the center of their attention.

Robert Kocharian assigned a supervisorial agency to report every ten
days as to progress being made.