Chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a consultation on the development of small and medium-size entrepreneurship was held today, attended by the heads of relevant government departments and representatives of NGOs representing SME interests. To begin with, the Prime Minister noted that all the problems faced in the field of small and medium-size entrepreneurship and the government’s steps will have to be mapped in order to support the sphere.
“This is an extremely important sector for the government, since small and medium-size business is more flexible, and the positive impact of the government’s activities will be felt at shorter notice. This sector affects a wide range of business people and entrepreneurs. We must set up a system of sustained feedback so that we could make sure that everything is being done with the participation of small and medium-size businesses,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
The meeting focused on a number of issues related to SME activities, the functions and tools to be used by State support entities and tax administration. The speakers specifically stressed the need for reforming the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia.
The Prime Minister underscored that the government has enough political will to look into the problems faced in this area and find ways of dealing with them. In this regard, Nikol Pashinyan considered it necessary to involve SME representatives in the discussions on tax code reforms.
The Premier instructed Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan to set up an SME Development Council with the participation of SME representatives at the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments that will discuss all issues in a constructive atmosphere and on a regular basis in order to report to the Prime Minister on the possibilities and ways of tackling the existing bottlenecks.
