ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Tuesday


 Vardan Aramyan: The country will lead additional incomes of the
budget to infrastructure development - improvement of roads and
irrigation systems.

Yerevan May 23

Naira Badalyan. Armenian Government is intended to drive additionally
collected assets at AMD 50 bln to the infrastructure development
projects. " I think, today it would be more justified to invest the
amount stated and to generate the added value, which, in its turn,
could be led for maintaining the state debt, " Vardan Aramyan,
Armenian Ministry Charge D'Affair stated in his interview to ArmInfo.

According to Aramyan, as far as budget tax incomes based on the
results of QI have already exceeded those planned for AMD 13 bln, the
Government took a decision to review the item of capital expenditures
to the increase of those. The economic activity has also exceeded the
expectations, marking the level of 6- 6,6%. " Already in annual view
the Government expects for additional tax-based incomes forming about
AMD 50 bln, and accordingly plans to increase the capital expenditures
respectively, which will give an option to plan higher indicators of
economic growth for 2018," Aramyan said, mentioning that for today
Government goes for GDP growth higher indicators, than those set in
2017 budget.

At the same time, according to him, the Government does not forget
that similar targets Armenian economy has taken also in the first
semester of 2016, which was followed by the period of economic
slowdown. Aramyan himself had stated many times that the economic
activity indicator could drop down a bit proceeding from basic effect
of its growth from the middle of last year. Besides, according to the
head of Armenian Financial Entity, Armenian economy has a traditional
"postponed" effect depending on Russian one, and negative tendencies
there impact the local economy with a certain delay. " Let's suppose
for a moment that international market shows a sharp drop[down, which
is reflected on export, financial flows and, as a result, we get lower
speed of economy growth. In this case, within the framework of anti-
cycle policy, when the demand has already fixed its natural dropdown,
the Government has to go in other way - reasonably increasing the
capital expenditures through involving new loans, allowing with that
some increase of budget deficit, of course," the Finance Minister
stated.

He accentuated that within the framework of this policy, the
additional income of the budget forming AMD 50 bln, will be led first
to infrastructure projects - improvement of roads and irrigation
systems. " this strategy has its philosophy. But today, despite all
our calls for private sector to make investments in the development,
within the absence of appropriate quality of roads and other
infrastructure units, one could hardly hope for that. The investments
should be motivated by highly developed infrastructure," Armayan
accentuated.

To recall, according to Armenian State revenue Committee Head Vardan
Harutyunyan estimates. Armenia in 2017 QI an unprecedent level of
state incomes - AMD 255 bln instead of 242 bln planned. The volumes of
shadow economy have also essentially decreased - from 48,8% down to
33,2%. From October 2016 and until April 2017 the Committee secured
AMD 653,8 bln. Tax collections, which is 7,6% higher if that for the
similar periods of 2015-2016. AMD 500,3 bln of the amount collected
was provided by tax authorities, and AMD 153,5 bln - by customs
entities. In respect to tax incomes the growth formed AMD 43,1 bln or
9,4%, in respect to tax fees - AMD 3 bln, or 1,9%.