Armenia’s Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan has stated that without tax payments, “we simply wouldn’t have a state; it would be impossible to exist independently.” He made the remarks during his presentation of the annual report on the execution of Armenia’s 2024 state budget in the National Assembly.

“The budget is about all of us—it concerns every person living in Armenia. There is not a single person in Armenia who doesn’t pay taxes; the opposite is simply impossible,” Hovhannisyan said, according to Panorama.am .

He emphasized that at times, the complexity of the tax system has led him to ponder the very purpose of collecting and redistributing money.

“What’s the point and necessity of this whole cycle, if we could theoretically have a simple life where there’d be no need to pay taxes or spend that money? But in that case, we wouldn’t have a state. It would be impossible to exist independently. We would inevitably end up as part of another state that would decide how much tax we pay and where that money is spent,” the minister added.

He concluded by stating that a tax system is a prerequisite for the very existence of states worldwide.