ARMENIANS OFFERED CASH BONANZA… FROM THE TAXMAN

Agence France Presse
Feb 5 2009
France

YEREVAN, Armenia (AFP) — Televised prize draws are common worldwide
but Armenian viewers on Friday are set to be offered something new:
thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs from the taxman.

The draw, to be held monthly, is part of an ingenious scheme to
promote the payment of sales tax in the Caucasus country.

Under the scheme, consumers will be eligible to win between 5,000
and 5 million Armenian dram (16-16,400 dollars) if unique numbers
on the receipts they receive for purchases at shops, match numbers
under the draw.

In all, 115 million dram will be up for grabs each month.

The scheme is aimed at encouraging consumers to demand receipts from
shop owners and market sellers, who have been reluctant to record
purchases to avoid paying taxes.

Officials in ex-Soviet Armenia estimate that 30-40 percent of economic
activity here takes place in the so-called "grey economy" — where
purchases are never recorded and sales taxes not paid.

"The government’s idea is to use the public as a tool against the
shadow economy," the deputy head of the state revenue committee,
Armen Alaverdian, said in televised remarks.

"The government has called on society to demand receipts for
purchases and in order to encourage this, after studying international
experiences, we decided to offer cash prizes," he said.

Alaverdian said the government expects to boost tax revenues by five
billion dram through the scheme, expected to run for three years.

Armenia’s economy has grown steadily in recent years due to its
booming construction and service sectors, and economic growth was
forecast this year at 9.2 percent, down slightly from 2008.

But government revenues have suffered from widespread sales and income
tax evasion.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress