Open Letter from Citizens to Nikol Pashinyan and Ararat Mirzoyan

A group of individuals has written an open letter to Nikol Pashinyan and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan. This is reported by "Hetq." Fully endorsing the vital necessity for a thorough revision of the entire legislative field in Armenia, the letter specifically addresses the critically problematic tax legislation in the country.

While not contesting the urgency of the property tax reform issue in Armenia, the changes proposed by the government in the tax code, which were approved in the first and second readings by the National Assembly, are seen as UNACCEPTABLE. Any law should be concise and clear, avoiding ambiguity, capricious interpretations, and manipulative applications that could lead to social injustice, tension, and corruption risks. We believe that these criteria directly correspond to the letter and spirit of the Velvet Revolution.

However, the inconsistency of the proposed amendments with these conditions became evident during preliminary discussions in the Assembly. Due to the vague definitions present in the draft text, along with those noticeably absent, the principles for revising the cadastral value of real estate remain unclear, particularly regarding how, on what calculations, when, and by which method the new cadastral property value will be determined. Will there be a differentiation between apartments and houses? Will the construction time, depreciation, acquisition time, price, and manner be taken into account for multi-apartment buildings and private homes?

The proposed changes do not take into account social security issues, notably the income and payment capacity of budget employees and pensioners. This amendment would contribute to the dispossession of the middle and underprivileged classes, including representatives from the scientific, educational, and cultural sectors, as well as all pensioners, deepening social inequality and demographic imbalance.

Such an increase in property taxes will have cascading consequences, including a sharp rise in rental prices, which in turn will cause inflation in a range of economic sectors and severely harm small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs—once again striking at the middle class, which has yet to form in our country, bankrupting citizens once more and prompting emigration.

It is specifically the middle class that is the foundation and guarantee for the establishment, stability, and development of a social, non-oligarchic, non-authoritarian state.

It is absolutely unjustifiable regarding what reasons and to what extent this significant increase in property tax is justified, as well as what taxpayers will receive in return for the taxes paid, in other words, how and for what the expected revenue from property tax payments will be spent.

We should also mention that such a social and tax policy not only contradicts your electoral promises but also, in essence, does not differ much from the process of dispossessing residents of North Avenue, Aram, and Byzantium streets.

Furthermore, without a proportional and timely revision of salaries and pensions, the multiple increases in tax payments grossly violate the economic and social rights of citizens of the Republic of Armenia, which are enshrined both in Armenian legislation and our international obligations regarding human rights.

A SITUATION is created where these legislative changes appear to be dictated by representatives of large businesses and are primarily intended to serve their interests. Remember that these changes were mainly developed during the previous government, at their directive, and fully align with the socio-economic policies they pursued.

FINALLY, in this context, we find it absolutely immoral and unacceptable that some members of parliament suggest to our fellow citizens to sell their properties in the case of financial incapacity and move to other places.

LET US REMEMBER that it was precisely through these individuals that the Velvet Revolution took place, which brought you to power. Yet today, with such legislative changes, you are ignoring their interests, violating rights, and undermining the dignity of a significant mass of citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

Taking into account the above issues and guided primarily by the interests and rights of Armenian CITIZENS, as well as striving to avoid social tension fraught with serious consequences, we call upon and demand:

1. TO SUSPEND the process of adopting the proposed changes to the tax code of the Republic of Armenia, 2. TO WITHDRAW the legislative draft, 3. TO DEVELOP a MORE TRANSPARENT and publicly discussable format if necessary MODIFYING the entire proposed package, including as well as adding the principles and mechanisms of recalculating the cadastral value of real estate.

1. Anush Chubaryan, artist, member of the Union of Artists of Armenia 2. Anahit Zardaryan, artist, member of the Union of Artists of Armenia, pensioner 3. Robert Ayvazyan, artist, member of the Union of Artists of Armenia, pensioner ... (and many other signatories)