«Khopanchiner» Will Not Pay Taxes in Armenia if Annual Income Does Not Exceed 12 Million Drams

Yesterday, a draft on amendments to the Tax Code was posted on the e-draft system, announced today by the head of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badasyan, addressing the legislation regarding "khopanchiner" (migrant workers). "Khopanchiner" will not pay taxes in Armenia if their annual income does not exceed 12 million drams.

The State Revenue Committee has submitted such a draft on the unified website for public discussions of legal acts. "If tax amount has been retained from the taxpayer in a foreign state, we will not apply tax on the differential in the country of residence. This provision has not been applied in practice for years, and there are some objective elements regarding specific complaints, for instance, regarding penalties, meaning that a person is not used to declaring their taxable income and is caught off guard when they receive a notice and see information about penalties," Badasyan stated in the National Assembly.

According to him, the draft proposes not to abolish penalties, but rather to not tax the differential in Armenia for a certain period of time. The head of the State Revenue Committee stated that taxpayers have not received any notifications from the Enforcement Service; only the State Revenue Committee has sent notifications regarding the existence of tax obligations.

It is worth mentioning that seasonal workers from Gegharkunik and Shirak regions held protests, blocking roads, expressing their dissatisfaction with the regulation from the State Revenue Committee, which requires workers registered abroad to also pay taxes in Armenia.