High Taxes, Extensive Paperwork: Complaints about the 'Nanny at the State's Expense' Program

'Jodovout' newspaper reports that the 'Nanny at the State's Expense' program, developed by former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan, has sparked significant discontent among working mothers due to excessive paperwork and high taxes.

Even though the program was created during Asatryan's tenure, it began to be implemented during the term of another former minister, Mane Tandilyan. It continues under the current minister, Jaruhi Batoyan.

It's noteworthy that mothers included in this program no longer receive the 18,000 drams benefit that they were entitled to during maternity leave.

Instead, the government pays the salary of the nanny taking care of their child. A woman on maternity leave with a child under two years old receives 18,000 drams, but if she wishes to return to work and hires a nanny, the state covers 50% of the nanny's salary. However, this amount should not exceed the minimum wage, with the rest paid by the parent.

The program has been operational since July 7 of the previous year. Priority is given to parents whose average monthly salary does not exceed the average salary, which was 195,000 drams in 2017, as well as those receiving family benefits.

As a result, of the 55,000 drams paid by the government, 29,000 drams is returned to the state due to taxes, which are around 26%. This way, the government brought nannies, who were previously operating in the shadow economy, into the tax system. In essence, parents were stripped of the 18,000 drams benefit, and when adding 12,000 drams, the government created a taxpayer.

However, it turns out that not all mothers wishing to return to work can benefit from this program. Astghik Gevorgyan, who reached out to 'Jodovout', lamented that she cannot return to work and benefit from the program because her salary is below average. According to her calculations, she would have to pay more than 150,000 drams a month to the nanny, which would consume most of her salary.

Another citizen, Heghine Kirakosyan, stated that she needs to earn a net salary of 250,000 drams to be able to afford the services of a nanny. Thus, the program is ineffective for mothers with low salaries. It is not beneficial for them to use the program because their earnings are insufficient to cover even the nanny's costs, even with the government's participation. On top of this, issues raised by mothers who are already beneficiaries of the program relate to the extensive paperwork required.

The paperwork is time-consuming, requiring certificates from one agency, a certificate from the workplace, bank statements, and so on.