During the Government-National Assembly Q&A session, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented statistical data regarding citizens engaged in commercial activities and operating under the turnover tax system.

He emphasized that the government has reduced taxes rather than increased them, as reported by 1lurer.am .

"We have actually reduced the tax. In my last press conference, I showed a graph and said that if citizens legally register their goods, taxes decrease. The legally defined taxes decrease to 1%," Pashinyan noted.

The Prime Minister also said that he had previously stated that this system should operate for several months, after which the results would be reviewed. If it turns out that there were miscalculations, the government is ready to accept them, as the goal is not to harm businesses but to assist them.

According to him, 61.7% of turnover tax payers in that sector declare an annual turnover of up to 10 million drams.

"If we take it as 10 million, though it's clear that it's not exactly 10 million, based on that calculation, our dear compatriots are doing about 27,000 drams of trade per day," Pashinyan said.

He noted that, in this case, according to economic calculations, such businesses should not exist, as their annual tax obligations amount to 500,000 drams.

"61% of the businesses, according to economic calculations, do not exist. How do they exist... because they need to acquire some goods, pay rent, incur expenses. The declared turnover is not sufficient for their existence. So, should the government sit and say, 'Yes, that's how it is'?" the Prime Minister noted.

According to the new law, from January 1, 2025, the turnover tax has doubled to 10% for all businesses that do not provide documentation for the acquisition of goods. However, with proper documentation, the tax decreases to just 1% of turnover. The law also requires an inventory of existing goods.