Tuesday,
Armenian Government Reports Further Rise In Tax Revenue
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Davit Ananian, head of the State Revenue Committee, arrives for a
news conference in Yerevan, July 9, 2019.
The Armenian government’s tax revenues soared by about 25 percent in the first
half of this year, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Davit
Ananian, said on Tuesday.
Figures released by Ananian show that the sharp rise was made possible by about
63 billion drams ($132 million) in additional taxes and other duties collected
by the SRC in this period.
Armenia’s 2019 state budget calls for a total of almost 651 billion drams in
first-half tax revenues, up from 572 billion drams in the year-earlier period.
The SRC surpassed that target, collecting over 713 billion drams ($1.5
billion), according to Ananian.
Ananian cautioned that his agency’s performance will not necessarily be just as
strong in the second half of this year.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian promised an additional budgetary revenue of at
least 62 billion drams at a May 8 news conference in Yerevan. Meeting with
foreign diplomats in Yerevan two weeks later, Pashinian said his government has
already raised that sum thanks to “a little trick.” He did not elaborate.
Ananian likewise did not specify factors behind the surplus when he met with
the press. The SRC chief reported only a 21 percent rise in the monetary value
of cash receipts issued by Armenian shops, restaurants and other businesses in
January-June 2019.
Pashinian regularly urges Armenians to demand such receipts when buying goods
and services in order to prevent businesses from evading taxes. He has said
that this is essential for the success of an “economic revolution” promised by
him.
Pashinian’s government pledged to crack down on widespread tax fraud when it
took office following the April-May 2018 “Velvet Revolution.” Armenia’s tax
revenues rose by over 14 percent, to 1.3 trillion drams ($2.7 billion), last
year. They were projected to reach 1.4 trillion drams in 2019.
Pashinian said in May that most of the extra taxes collected by the authorities
will be spent on road construction. They have also allowed 10 percent increases
in the salaries of schoolteachers and military personnel.
In Ananian’s words, the improved fiscal performance is also enabling the
government to finance its recent decision to make healthcare free for all
citizens aged under 18.
Iran Looks To Boost Gas Supplies To Armenia
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Iran -- President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with Armenia's Deputy Prime Minister
Mher Grigorian, Tehran, July 3, 2019.
The Armenian and Iranian governments are exploring the possibility of expanding
a swap arrangement allowing Armenia to import Iranian natural gas, Deputy Prime
Minister Mher Grigorian said on Tuesday.
Under the commercial scheme launched a decade ago, Iran has supplied up to 500
million cubic meters of gas to Armenia annually. The latter pays for it with
electricity delivered to the Islamic Republic.
The rest of Armenia’s gas imports totaling roughly 2 billion cubic meters per
annum come from Russia. According to the current and former Armenian
governments, Russian gas has been cheaper, in monetary terms, for the South
Caucasus state than Iranian gas.
Speaking after talks with Grigorian held in Tehran last week, Iranian Energy
Minister Reza Ardakanian said that his country is ready to increase the gas
supplies and also accept other Armenian “goods” in payment for them.
Iran -- Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian (R) meets with Armenia's Deputy
Prime Minister Mher Grigorian, Tehran, July 2, 2019.
Grigorian confirmed that the Iranian side floated the idea during the talks.
“Such an issue was discussed and negotiations regarding this will certainly
continue,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We expect that a group of
Iranian specialists will visit Yerevan soon and I think that discussions on
this issue will continue.”
“This topic needs further elaboration because it is quite interesting in
itself,” said the Armenian vice-premier.
Grigorian said the Armenian government is interested in greater gas supplies
from Iran because it believes they could cut domestic prices of gas and
electricity. He made clear that “the most desirable option” for Yerevan is to
continue to pay for Iranian gas with electricity, rather than other goods.
Armenia is currently building a third high-voltage transmission line that will
connect Armenian and Iranian power grids. The new line, slated for completion
next year, will allow it to almost triple power supplies to Iran.
While in Tehran, Grigorian also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The
latter told him that the two neighboring nations should deepen their relations
despite the U.S. economic sanctions against Tehran.
The gas issue was high on the agenda of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
February 2018 visit to Iran. Speaking after talks with Pashinian, Rouhani
expressed Tehran’s readiness to sell more gas to Armenia.
Tsarukian Also Sees No Constitutional Court Crisis
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian arrives for a
parliament session in Yerevan, July 9, 2019.
Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) leader Gagik Tsarukian joined on Tuesday other
opposition figures in defending the legitimacy of the Constitutional Court
challenged by its newest judge and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political
allies.
Immediately after being elected by the parliament and sworn late last month,
the judge, Vahe Grigorian, claimed that only he and another judge of the
9-member court, Arman Dilanian, can make valid decisions.
Grigorian argued that under constitutional amendments which took effect last
year the Constitutional Court now consists of “judges,” rather than “members,”
as was the case until April 2018. He said that the seven other members of the
court therefore cannot be considered “judges.”
The eight other members of the Constitutional Courts, including Dilanian,
dismissed the claims in a joint statement, saying that they “cannot have any
legal consequences.”
Senior lawmakers from the BHK and the other opposition party represented in the
parliament, Bright Armenia, also disagreed with Grigorian. The BHK’s Gevorg
Petrosian said an article of the amended constitution makes clear that the
court members appointed before 2018 can serve as judges until they turn 65.
Tsarukian also denied the existence of a constitutional crisis in the country.
“I don’t see anything [wrong,]” he told journalists. “People can’t just wake up
and express a thought or draw a conclusion so that things move in that
direction.”
Grigorian elaborated on his claims in a lengthy letter to Armenia’s government,
parliament and top judicial officials publicized on June 28. He urged them to
help resolve the “crisis” and proposed three different solutions, including the
election of seven new Constitutional Court judges by the National Assembly.
None of those state institutions has officially replied to Grigorian’s letter
so far.
Some parliament deputies from the ruling My Step alliance have publicly sided
with the judge in the dispute. Still, My Step’s parliamentary leader, Lilit
Makunts, said on Tuesday that the parliament’s pro-government majority has not
yet formulated an official position on the issue.
“Our parliamentary faction does not have a decision at the moment as to what
roadmap we will be following,” Makunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “We have
certainly familiarized ourselves with the letter but are in no rush to come up
with any solutions or proposals.”
“I don’t exclude that we will accept Vahe Grigorian’s proposal,” she said. “Nor
do I exclude that we will propose our own solutions.”
Poll Shows Continuing Support For Armenia’s Government
• Susan Badalian
Armenia -- Supporters of Armenian protest leader Nikol Pashinian gather in
Republic Square as parliament holds a session to elect a new prime minister in
Yerevan, May 8, 2018
One year after the “Velvet Revolution” that brought Nikol Pashinian to power,
most Armenians continue to support his government and remain optimistic about
their country’s future, according to a U.S.-funded opinion poll.
The nationwide poll was commissioned by the Washington-based International
Republican Institute (IRI) and conducted in May by the Baltic Survey/The Gallup
Organization and the Armenian Sociological Association (ASA). It was financed
by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
The survey released by the IRI late on Monday shows, in particular, that 60
percent of 1,200 randomly interviewed people across Armenia believe that their
country is heading in the right direction.
Although the figure represents a 12 percentage point drop from the previous IRI
survey conducted in October, the U.S. institute said it indicates a
“significant expression of continued confidence in the new government.”
Accordingly, 59 percent of those polled said they would vote for Pashinian’s My
Step bloc if Armenia held general elections next Sunday. Businessman Gagik
Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) would finish second with 12 percent,
followed by the former ruling Republican Party (HHK), whose top leader, Serzh
Sarkisian, was overthrown in last year’s revolution. The HHK was backed by 5
percent of respondents, making it the third most popular party.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends a parliament session in
Yerevan, January 14, 2019.
My Step garnered over 70 percent of the vote in the December 2018 elections.
The opinion poll suggests that popular support for Pashinian’s bloc has
somewhat declined since then. It indicates slight increases in the BHK’s and
the HHK’s popularities.
In the December polls, the HHK narrowly failed to clear the 5 percent vote
threshold for entering the new Armenian parliament. Gevorg Poghosian, the ASA
head whose organization carried out the fieldwork for the survey, predicted
that Sarkisian’s party will attract a larger following over time because it is
the country’s “most pronounced opposition force” that regularly and strongly
criticizes the current authorities.
When asked about the Pashinian government’s biggest achievements, the largest
proportion of respondents (27 percent) pointed to a decrease in corruption,
while 11 percent singled out “the improved psychological state of people.” Only
3 percent chose “socioeconomic improvement” as an answer to the question.
“Bad management” was the most frequent answer (22 percent) to a question about
the government’s biggest failures. And almost one in ten respondents blamed it
for “political instability” in the country.
Even so, as much as 72 percent of respondents were satisfied with Pashinian’s
performance. President Armen Sarkissian, who has largely ceremonial powers, and
the Armenian military had even higher approval ratings: 81 percent and 80
percent respectively.
“The goodwill expressed by the Armenian people presents the Armenian government
with an unprecedented opportunity to undertake fundamental reforms that
strengthen the country’s democracy and improve the economic well-being of its
people,” Stephen Nix, the IRI director for Eurasia, said in a statement.
“The government’s speedy delivery on reforms will be key to maintaining its
strong public support and the momentum to press on with its agenda,” Nix added.
Press Review
“Hraparak” reports that a pro-government member of Armenia’s parliament, Hayk
Sargsian, has demanded that law-enforcement launch criminal proceedings against
several media outlets that have published reports critical of him. Sargsian is
quoted as saying that those reports are not only slanderous but also pose a
threat to the country’s national security. The paper ridicules that claim,
saying that Sargsian does not seem know that libel had long been decriminalized
in Armenia.
“The parliament deputy [Hayk Sargsian] does not realize that after getting
elected to the legislative body one must be ready for being the target of
harshest criticism,” writes “Zhoghovurd.” “Being a representative of the state
authority is not only a pleasure or privilege but also responsibility along
with a portion of inevitable criticism that comes with it.” The paper too
dismisses Sargsian’s claims about national security threats. “The most worrying
thing in this situation is the very fact that it occurred to Hayk Sargsian and
his lawyer to have media outlets undesirable for them shut down,” it says.
“This is a serious blow to not only the freedom of expression but also broader
democracy in our country. One must revolt against this development. Or else,
this precedent could be irreversible and everyone could ask the Special
Investigative Service to shut down media outlets under the guise of national
security.”
“Zhamanak” comments on recent days’ deadly car accidents which have rekindled
public debate about the poor state of road safety in Armenia. The paper says
that the Armenian traffic police alone cannot seriously reduce such accidents
because “it is simply not possible to have so many police officers and
surveillance cameras that would ensure a close monitoring of everyone and
everywhere.” It calls for greater public awareness of the risks of reckless
driving and the creation of a more adequate road infrastructure. “In this
regard, nearly 90 percent of Armenia’s roads do not meet those [safety]
standards,” it says.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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