"HONEST TAX-PAYERS SHOULD NOT BE CHECKED"
A1+
[07:08 pm] 13 December, 2007
"I do not know, why the tax check-ins carried out in the enterprises of
businessman, NA Deputy Khachik Sukiassyan are connected with politics
and whether this tax-payer has been selected by the computer program
or not. But we consider that tax check-ins should not be concurred
with politics and only objective mechanisms should be considered
in this matter in choosing tax-payers for check-ins. That will more
productive for the State Tax Service. They should not check honest
tax-payers", said International Monetary Fund Resident Representative
in Armenia Nienke Oomes to "A1+". We should remind, that after the
NA Deputy Khachik Sukiassyan announced of his intention to support
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, all enterprises belonging to the Sukiassyans’
family were checked by the Tax Service.
The mentioned computer program is worked out by the RA State Tax
Service (STS). This new program allows estimating the possibility of
carrying out tax violations and is aimed at checking those tax-payers
who are more likely to carry out violations. A month ago the STS
published a decision, according to which "50 percent of the list of
tax-payers to be checked-in should be selected from the first part of
the list by the risk program". "This is implemented in all developed
countries, where the tax inspector does not decide whom to check. The
possibility that this concrete tax-payer avoids paying taxes is based
on serious analysis", considers Nienke Oomes.
Within the frameworks of the 3-month program of International
Monetary Fund which costs 35 million dollars and is implemented
jointly with the RA Government, the Fund checks twice a year whether
the Government has carried out all conditions or not. For checking
purposes a delegation is invited from Washington to evaluate the
economic situation in Armenia.
"The main idea of the program is to classify the tax-payers according
to risk. Thus, we try to predict the possibility that a concrete
tax-payer carries out violations. This depends on the number of
violations in the past", said Ms Oomes.