PARLIAMENT TO PROTECT GAS-FILLING STATIONS?

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am
Sept 3 2009
Armenia

On September 3, the RA Government approved draft amendments to the RA
Law "On local taxes" granting communities the right to levy a special
tax from gas-filling stations located in the communities. The annual
tax rate is 150-200 thousand AMD.

The draft amendments will, as an initiative, be submitted to
Parliament, with the well-known businessman Gagik Tsarukyan being
head of the influential "gas lobby" there. The parliamentarians may
"give another battle" to kill or, at least, block the bill though
200,000 AMD annually is no money for gas-filling stations.

Experts estimate the annual net profit of one gas-filling station
with four fuel dispensers at about U.S. $50,000. It is noteworthy
the bill was quite promptly submitted to the Government for approval
and has not been addressed since the Government’s sitting. Obviously,
the Government is not interested in public discussions of the bill. A
defect of the bill is that it does not say anything about the number
of pipes supplying gas to fuellers. Stations with one to three fuel
dispensers are operating in most Armenian regions, while ones with
4-7 dispensers in Yerevan. The later group’s profits are much higher.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress