The issue of the efficiency of state support programs in the field of information technologies was discussed in the National Assembly’s regional and Eurasian integration committee the other day, within the framework of the EAEU digital agenda. As mentioned by the vice-chairman of the commission Vagharshak Hakobyan, currently there are tax benefits for those entrepreneurs in the IT sector, whose number of employees does not exceed 30.
They are exempt from profit tax until December 31, 2022, and the income tax rate is 10%. Considering that there is a flow of IT specialists from Russia, new mechanisms and new directions of support are needed to maintain the competitiveness of our country. The special tax regime, defined for up to 30 employees, targets small start-ups, which creates a shadow, preventing the possibility of development. The entrepreneur prefers to stay small in order to take advantage of the tax exemption. In a number of countries, the conditions are better and it is not excluded that IT specialists who came to Armenia may go to a third country.
Civil Contract faction deputy Khachatur Sukiasyan said that they aim to make Armenia more attractive and create a competitive platform. “Everything has been discussed, every component has been studied. The tax burden should be reduced, which should lead to a more competitive platform. The second is social issues: schools, kindergartens, sports complexes, etc. I think that the people who come to Armenia should be integrated into those relevant Armenian structures.
Thirdly, the law and statistics valid until today say that those organizations that are not registered in Armenia, or are registered as branches, but have head offices, pay only income tax, internet fee, and rent for space in Armenia. Ambitious Armenian organizations should be in the center of our attention, to go to the brand institute, to become known all over the world, so that we can also have other incomes in the form of profit tax.”
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Civil Contract MP Babken Tunyan said that the government has recently been following the path of gradually renouncing tax benefits so that the tax field does not become distorted. But on the other hand, if we want to single out any sector, it should be done with a tax system that is attractive when competing with other countries. “I won’t reveal a secret, the results of the survey already prove that, one of the main factors of people coming to Armenia is the society’s attitude towards them, then the other things come. There are also impeding circumstances, but we should not rely only on good attitudes, delicious food or knowledge of Russian. As a business, we should provide such conditions for those people that they don’t think about moving from Armenia. If we don’t use this resource properly, it will mean missing the moment.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
