AGAIN THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE REFORMS, OR OPPOSITE SIDE-2
JAMES HAKOBYAN
14:25:23 – 25/03/2009
Lragir.am
It has been learnt recently, that the Armenian State Profit Committee
is to launch a tax mediation institution in Armenia. This institution,
in fact, is already present in Armenia as advisory organizations,
which serve for the enterprisers. The government wants to regulate
this sphere, and naturally represents its actions as reforms. However,
under this reform there are rather tangible dangers again, which can
render the reform more harmful than useful. According to the draft on
the tax mediation institution, the aim of the tax mediators is to
prevent the situation when, for example, the enterprisers try to avoid
taxes. For instance, there is the following idea in the draft which
states that the aim of the tax mediator is to prevent any ‘decision or
action of the tax payers which, though grounded, may bring about
non-planned consequences, which differ from legislative provisions.’
So, what we have. It is found out, that the tax mediators will not be
mediators but, roughly speaking `agents’ of the tax service, who will
not let the enterprises pay fewer taxes with grounded motivations. In
other words, the point is not the tax evasion through an illegal way,
but grounded fewer tax paying. In general, the aim of each businessman
is to pay fewer taxes possible, like the aim of each State is to
collect many taxes possible. But the problem is that the State and
the enterpriser should lead a professional competition, and the State,
should not use administrative keys in such a strict crisis state. The
tax mediator, according to the draft, must prevent the fostering of
the formation of tax legislation `empties’, which will bring about tax
evasion by the tax payer.’
In other words, the government, at least the State Profit Committee,
admits that the tax legislation has omissions of which the
enterprisers take advantage and pay fewer taxes. In other words, the
enterprisers do not break any law, merely, the professionalism and the
mental abilities of the officials of the relevant bodies does not let
them compete with the private sector. In order to correct these
omissions, the State Profit committee works out a draft which prevents
the possibility for those consultations, which may propose to the
enterprisers the advisory organizations, suggesting ways of paying
fewer taxes by making use of the law. This consultation seems the most
valuable one for the enterprisers in this state of crisis, especially
for the small and midsize businesses.
The draft, according to which, legislative amendments are to be
carried out, provides for fines and punishments for those
organizations who may give such advices, through which the enterpriser
will pay fewer taxes.
For example, such an organization may be deprived of its
certification. The point is that the advisory organizations which will
become tax mediators should have a certificate and should co-operate
with the tax service. This contains another danger. First, a danger of
market monopolization is created, especially considering that there
are interested officials in the State Profit Committee. Under such
rules, they may give certificates to those organizations which are
ready to cooperate with the tax service; the others may not be given
it.
The point is also that the existing organizations are very skillful
and are able to find such ways which enable the enterprisers pay fewer
taxes in accordance with the law. Against this, the tax service does
not try to find skillful officials, except of the relatives of
different officials, and does not try to create such law which will
not have `empties’ but takes under its total control the advisory
field, in fact depriving this sphere of freedom.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
