Banking Sector Experts Oppose Universal Income Declaration: 'Hraparak'

The Economic Affairs Committee of the National Assembly held a working discussion yesterday on the topic of universal income declaration. This implies that all citizens of Armenia would be required to declare their incomes. Back in the summer, while presenting the government's program in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that this regulation would come into effect in 2024.

In addition to legislators, representatives from the banking sector, businessmen, and experts participated in the working discussion. In a closed part of the discussion, according to information received by 'Hraparak', the experts unanimously opposed the idea of requiring ordinary citizens to declare their incomes, particularly in terms of the current concepts.

They told Babken Tunyan that their drafted project could not implement such a policy—declaration and taxation of everyone's income to fill the state budget.

They suggested that if there is to be a universal declaration, then a so-called zero declaration should first be required from citizens, meaning that the declarant must prove that they own the reported 200,000 dollars or a 'Bentley'; otherwise, newly appointed officials could fabricate arbitrary figures and facts, knowing that they would later accumulate such incomes through dubious means during their tenure.

Furthermore, a threshold should be established, above which citizens must prove the legality of their assets. For instance, if a citizen declares an income above 100 million, they should be legally required to explain the origin of that wealth; otherwise, legal proceedings should be initiated against them.

Notably, our information suggests that the idea of universal declaration has also been met with mixed reactions within the ruling Civil Contract party.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.