Armenians Working Abroad Now Being Taxed by the State Revenue Committee: 1005 Notifications Sent Out

Armenians who have gone abroad to work, particularly in the Russian Federation and other CIS countries, are facing a new financial reality. Thousands of citizens who traveled to Russia for employment and returned home are receiving letters from the State Revenue Committee (SRC), stating that they have tax obligations ranging from 100,000 to one million drams, as reported by Hetq.

One citizen who received such a notification shared the SRC’s message with Hetq, explaining that while working in Russia in 2022, they paid all applicable taxes there, sending their earnings back home to Armenia to help their family with social needs. The citizen had never considered that income earned from working abroad would be taxable in Armenia, as this had never been a requirement before.

The letter from the SRC’s Tax Information and Risk Analysis Division indicated that records showed this citizen earned a salary of 758,622 rubles from a Russian resident organization in 2022, from which 98,621 rubles were paid in income tax in Russia. The SRC pointed out that income earned outside Armenia is subject to taxation, amounting to 393,000 drams at a 21% tax rate for the year 2022.

The notification sent to the citizen states, “Based on the above, you are advised to submit your annual income tax and social fee calculation for 2022 to the tax authority within a short timeframe and pay the resulting tax liabilities.” The letter also emphasizes an agreement between the governments of Armenia and Russia aimed at preventing double taxation. According to the SRC, this process does not amount to double taxation.

To clarify the situation, we submitted a written inquiry to the State Revenue Committee, which informed us that CIS governments signed an agreement in Astana in 2018 for the electronic transfer of tax information among member states. Armenia ratified the protocol in February 2020. Under this protocol, the SRC received information about individual incomes and started issuing financial demands.

Based on the received data, information was extracted regarding residents of Armenia who, according to Armenian legislation, are subject to taxation but failed to submit their tax calculations for the reporting periods within the established deadlines and did not pay their taxes.

The SRC has already sent notifications to 1,005 individuals, demanding a total of 187 million drams. Notifications have been issued for income earned in 2020 to 122 individuals, requiring 21.3 million drams; for income in 2021 to 96 individuals, requiring 13.2 million drams; and for income in 2022 to 787 individuals, requiring 153.3 million drams. Notably, citizens were not adequately informed about the ratified protocol that the SRC was supposed to implement.