Whether our businessmen distinguish between tax obligations and charity?
The majority of our businessmen are proud of their benevolent activities, which become more active during the elections. They speak of charity in the pre-electoral period forgetting about their main duty, about paying taxes. The prime Minister spoke about it in his latest interview: “Certainly they (the businessmen) should be engaged in benevolence but they should exercise it rightly, they should donate a part of their profits instead of avoiding paying taxes”. No businessman has replied to the PM’s declaration but we know that each of them are very close to the authority and is promoted by the authority or is t a part of it. Parallel with this, President Robert Kocharyan declared himself that no businessman was allowed to act in shadow economy and ordered the tax services to strengthen the struggle against shadow economy.
We tried to get answers from several businessmen yesterday. Head of “Flash” Company Barsegh Beglaryan was out of the republic, and we were informed from his office that Mr. Beglaryan hadn’t been in the country the previous week and hadn’t heard the PM’s speech. Several other famous businessmen didn’t want to answer, they simply told: He was right saying it”. In answer to our question we received the following written reply from PAP Leader Gagik Tsarukyan’s office. “We don’t think that we should find any vague allusion in the Prime Minister’s speech, especially when Gagik Tsarukyan exercises benevolence not only during the elections, he has always done it and will continue doing. Regarding the shadow economy, Gagik Tsarukyan has always said that the law should be equal for everybody”.