If citizens without cash register receipts are fined, we can fight the shadow economy. Aghazaryan

Effective combat against the shadow economy is possible, particularly if we pass a law stating that citizens exiting shopping centers without a cash register receipt will also be fined. This was stated today by MP Hovik Aghazaryan during discussions on the annual report of the State Revenue Committee in the National Assembly.

According to him, people want to hide their incomes because when one entrepreneur sees that their neighboring competitor is hiding their turnover, they do the same, and this chain continues.

Addressing the economy, Aghazaryan noted that GDP and the GDP/tax ratio are crucial indicators for describing the state of the economy. He provided an assessment, stating that our actual economic growth was not 5.9% but rather 3.7%. He explained that there is a supplementary element within the GDP, akin to froth, which does not yield results on its own.

“This year, they are saying that external trade turnover has experienced a significant decline. Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan stated that this decline is due to the fact that last year's economic growth included an element related to gold operations, which did not contain any significant, so-called cream. Therefore, now, only that has decreased, which is not detrimental for us,” Aghazaryan said.

Aghazaryan expressed confidence that we will not reach the intended 25% tax/GDP ratio. “It will be interesting to hear both the clarifications from the Minister of Economy and the explanations from the responsible parties in the sector,” he concluded.