GAS TARIFFS ARE LIKELY TO RISE FOR ARMENIAN POPULATION IN 2008, WORLD BANK REPRESENTATIVE SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Nov 30, 2007

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, NOYAN TAPAN. Although the price of natural gas
supplied to Armenia will not change in 2008, it is likely to rise
for the Armenian population, the director of the World Bank Yerevan
Office Aristomene Varudakis expressed an opinion at the November
30 press conference. According to him, in parallel with the growth
in gas consumption, it is possible that the special fund set up for
subsidizing the gas price will not be able to provide the necessary
financial resources.

A. Varudakis said that the increase of inflation registered in Armenia
should be controlled as it is the poor who most suffer from it. The
inflation increase, according to him, is related to the growth of
prices of foodstuffs and oil products.

A. Varudakis considered the increase of taxes/GDP ratio (taxes will
make up 17% instead of 13-14%) in the 2008 state budget of the Republic
of Armenia as a "serious challenge" and said that measures are being
taken to improve the administration with respect to big taxpayers. It
is especially hard to collect taxes in the real estate and construction
sectors. In his words, a lot of depends on the results of reforms to
be implemented in the tax sector.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress