Hrant Bagratyan: role of large taxpayers decreases in Armenia’s budget

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia’s former prime minister Hrant Bagratyan said that judging from budget indices, Armenia’s economy is getting centralized, i.e. the market economy and competition are weakening.

“Taxes paid by Armenia’s large taxpayers over the first nine months of 2010 increased by 17.7% compared to the same period of last year. Meanwhile, 19.2% growth was recorded in the budgetary revenues during the reporting period. It means that the role of large taxpayers is decreasing, while small and medium enterprises pay more taxes, what runs counter to the policy declared by the Prime Minister,” Bagratyan told a press conference.

Besides, the former prime minister believes that the increase in budgetary revenues should not be considered a growth, as the high inflation exceeds it. Bagratyan reported that 45-60% increase was recorded in prices for cheese over several days.