The Armenian parliament adopted in the third reading on Tuesday, October 4 the proposed amendments to the Tax Code, submitted earlier by the executive, Tert.am reports.

The bill overwhelmingly received the National Assembly’s approval, with 78 lawmakers voting for and 19 against the measure. None of the lawmakers attending the session abstained from voting.

At the debate after the vote, Hrant Bagratyan of the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) argued over several provisions which he considered unconstitutional.

He said the new legislation proposed charging taxes only from catholic churches functioning on the territory of Armenia (excluding those of the Armenian Apostolic Church).

Mikael Melkumyan of the opposition Prosperous Armenia faction said the law signals threats of “retreat for small- and medium-sized businesses.”

Khachatur Kokobelyan, a cross-bencher attending the hearing, proposed postponing the voting, citing “the increased tax burden for taxpayers.”

Levon Zurabyan, the head of the ANC faction in parliament, complained that their experts had not been invited to earlier debates. The opposition MP claimed that 25 committee hearings had been held to consider the measure.