VAHRAM BARSEGHIAN: MANY COMPANIES TRY TO EVADE TAXES THROUGH THEIR BRANCHES
Noyan Tapan
Jan 23, 2008
YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, NOYAN TAPAN. In 2007, 284 billion 781.5 million
drams (by the average annual exchange rate, about 833 million USD)
was transferred to the Armenian state budget by tax authorities, which
exceeded the 2006 index by about 65 billion drams. The head of the RA
State Tax Service (STS) Vahram Barseghian said at the January 23 press
conference that particularly, in the third quarter they succeeded in
ensuring a monthly tax collection growth of 7-10 billion drams.
According to him, last year the STS managed to refund the whole
amount of excess payments owed to tax payers – 21 billion 318 million
drams. V. Barseghian stated that a growth in revenues from all taxes,
except excise tax, was registered. Simplified tax revenues grew by
30.8% to 10 billion 39 million drams, which, according to him, is
much less than the expected index. In 2007, the number of companies
liable to this tax (envisaged for small enterprises) grew 13fold,
while tax revenues increased only twofold.
According to the STS head, a considerable number of these 26,325
organizations are not those liable to simplified tax because these are
branches set up by big companies which try to evade taxes in this way.