Head of SCC on Proper Tax Collection Implementation

The State Revenue Committee (SCC) will focus its efforts on proper tax collection, which also implies a fight against shadow economies. However, SCC President Edward Hakobyan does not rule out the possibility of revising the indicators outlined in the budget law for 2025, depending on the economic scenario.

According to Armenpress, the SCC president made this statement during a press conference summarizing the results of 2024, referring to the previously planned revenue indicators set by the budget law and the already recorded lower figures.

Last year, Armenia collected 2 trillion 390.9 billion drams in tax revenues, which is 117 billion drams more than in 2023. “When the 2024 budget was being formed, the forecast was 2 trillion 614 billion, but the Ministry of Finance has transparently indicated the associated risks. It is clear that we are operating in an uncertain environment where there are numerous scenarios. Therefore, the level of tax collection varies depending on the economic scenario. Economic growth, inflation, exchange rates, and imports, as well as key macroeconomic indicators, have been adjusted,” Hakobyan noted.

He assured that the Ministry of Finance and the government have been transparent in communicating this information to the public. The SCC president mentioned that there are two updates of forecasts during the year. He emphasized that the latest forecast for 2024 revenues is 2 trillion 455 billion drams. This means that the difference compared to the actual revenues collected is about 60-65 billion drams.

“Throughout the year, the government has clearly communicated to the citizens that the economic situation is changing and therefore appropriate adjustments need to be made,” said Hakobyan. In the context of lower forecasts, he noted there are certain downward risks related to this year. “Of course, we consider tax collection for next year (meaning 2025) to be realistic. But we must try to explain objectively what changes during the year and what affects tax collection, so that the public understands what is possible, and what is not,” said the SCC president.

He reminded that risks are also described in the budget law for 2025, and if the economic scenario trends downward, certain downward adjustments may be possible. “But we will direct our efforts towards proper tax collection implementation. This means optimal tax collection in the context of developments in the economy, which implies a firm fight against the shadow economy,” concluded the SCC president.