In Doing Business 2013 that was entitled Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises this year, Armenia was ranked 32nd. According to Karine Minasyan, the First Deputy of the Minister of Economy, it is the best index in the whole history of the Republic of Armenia. www.aravot.am got comments from Vahagn Khachatryan, a member of the economic committee of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), whether this progress was perceptible in real life. He stated, “The government adopted a policy of imitation long ago and it includes registering the rise in indices of international economy. It is mentioned that progress has been made in terms of organizing the business, but it is just about the conditions that make it possible for a person to start a business on paper. If one starts a business, they will give him a paper two days after that there is big progress regarding investments and the taxation system, but it has nothing to do with the reality, since it doesn’t necessarily mean that one can do business in Armenia. If there have been certain changes in the same system of taxation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is about the business starter or all persons engaged in business. We can consider it as progress in terms of documentation, but in practice, there is no progress. It also shows that the government of the Republic of Armenia, the Cabinet, is engaged in imitation.”
Mr. Khachatryan noted another fact, “When we examine subsections, we are in the 108th place in terms of taxation, so, using such methods, we will still have many things to do. The index and the reality have nothing to do with each other. One cannot be guided by that and say that one can make investments in the Republic of Armenia. In reality, the index shows an economic life that differs from real life.”
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In response to our question what significance the presented numbers had, V. Khachatryan said, “Those indices never become a reality for those who devise and are responsible for the methodology. It is done for the World Bank and it is not concerned with a concrete process and situation. They say, ‘Do your job, if you show that you have done a good job, we will give loans.’ In reality, no one is concerned about what happens with the business and the society. There is a lack of the society’s trust in the government, since people communicate with representatives of the government in their daily life and see that there is no change. The latest discussions in the National Assembly on the report of the Public Television testify to that.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
