6.2 percent of the economic growth throughout two months of the current year might be provided not due to the efforts of the government, but a new type of tax – by an excise tax on cigarette and alcohol, opined economist Vahagn Khachatryan during the interview with Aravot.am.
As he stated, merely after bringing parallels with the previous year it will be plain what particularly promoted economic growth. Thus, as compared with January-February of the previous year, during the two months of the current year the incomes of the budget, as reported in the data represented by the tax body, have increased by virtue of fees charged for value-added tax, environment and nature management, excise tax, custom duties, turnover tax and other taxes. Nevertheless, the most part of the tax income – 7.2 billion, falls to VAT, and then to the fees for environment and nature management, excise tax and custom duties. Overall, from January to February of 2017, tax incomes of the Republic of Armenia have accounted to 160.5 billion AMD as compared with 145.7 billion AMD of the same time period of the previous year. Mr. Khachatryan does not think that the economic growth of these two months is conditioned by the factor of the new Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.
According to him, during the first months of ruling of any given PM such growth and input promises are in place, but it is difficult to say to what extent they are being fulfilled: “Such promises have been made in 2007, 2008, 2012. I do not witness serious changes. All this is simply to provide pre-electoral campaign and all those promises with regard to inputs, I do not see those conditions to make contributions. I possess big doubts and reservations that those inputs will be accomplished. From perspective of methodology, perhaps it will take the appearance of an investment, for instance – now a purchase has taken place, the owner of Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant is changed, this business will be represented as a contribution, but actually there is no contribution at all. It will be better if they indicate the place where it has been made, when they say an input.”
Lusine BUDAGHYAN
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