Alen Simonyan Responds to Discussions on Taxation of the Church

The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, writes: “As for the claims about the church not being taxed, to put it mildly, they are false. If they are false, then there is nothing to worry about, right?”

The Armenian Tax Code states: Article 230. Exemptions from Real Estate Tax
1. Exempt from real estate tax are: 8) religious and worship-related real estate owned by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin) that is classified according to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia and is used for religious, cultural, educational, ecclesiastical, and ritual production and sale. Churches owned by the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin) that do not have monument status and workshops servicing the internal needs of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church (Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin), as well as the real estate necessary for their service and use.

The list of such real estate is defined by the Government. Article 64. Transactions and Operations Exempt from Value Added Tax
1. Exempting from VAT means that transactions and operations considered as taxable under Article 60 of the Code are not subject to VAT. 2. The following transactions and operations are exempt from VAT as defined in Article 60: 9) services for organizing religious rituals, the transfer of religious items to religious organizations, as well as the transfer of those items by religious organizations.

It is worth noting that previously, Speaker Alen Simonyan stated: “I regret that the church got drawn into all of this. I think it is time to discuss and understand why the tax obligations that apply to everyone in the Republic of Armenia are not being applied to the church.” Later, Bishop Bagrat responded to Alen Simonyan’s comments on “paying taxes.”