This is not the best time for shadow economy: Armenian State Revenue Committee decreased shadow economy extents for 15.6%

ArmInfo. For the Q1 2017 Armenia registered unprecedented level of tax  levies-255 bln AMD instead of planned 242 bln and managed to decrease  significantly shadow economy extents from 48.8% to 33.2%, Vardan  Harutyunyan, Armenian State Revenue Committee Head stated to the  journalists  summarizing the results of the department's activity for  the recent 7 months. 

According to him, Armenian State Revenue Committee during the recent  7 months initiated the reforms directed to the business community,  the part of which is being implemented already. During the pointed  period consistent growth of tax incomes has been registered. From Oct  2016 to April 2017 the Committee provided 653.8 bln tax levies. The  growth compared to the same period of 2016 totaled 46.1 bln AMD or  7.6%. 500.3 bln AMD provided tax entities, and 153.5-bln custom  services. Tax incomes' growth totaled 43.1 bln AMD or 9.4%, customs  office 3bln AMD or 1.9%. "In April of 2017 the taxmen provided  unprecedented index by tax levies of Armenian history-107.357 bln  AMD, under scheduled 100 bln AMD", Harutyunyan stated. 

At the same time, as he noted, the number of control   carried out by  the tax service decreased for two and a half times. During the  reporting period, 3,588 control measures were implemented instead of  9090 for the same period of the previous year. " For six months, 679  reviews were carried out and an additional amount of payments of 12  billion AMD was registered, 855 reviews were made during the same  period of previous year, and the amount of additional payments was  registered  at 7.5 billion AMD," Harutyunyan said.

The increase in tax revenues, as the head of SRC stated, was achieved  due to a significant reduction in the shadow economy. At the end of  December 2016, the shadow economy sector among large taxpayers was  estimated at 48.8%. Now the "shadow" has decreased, in particular, in  March it totaled 33.2%. According to the head of the department, he  will be consistent in reducing the shadow economy turnover. At the  same time, Harutyunyan refrained from forecasting the results of the  struggle against the "shadow" economy. "I think that we will not be  able to reach the zero index in terms of shadow economy volumes. It  simply does not exist anywhere else in the world. There is no need to  expect any similar  sharp decrease in the future", he stressed.

According to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia, economic  growth in 2017 is planned at 3.2%, nominal GDP growth is within 5%,  with a deflation index of 1.7% (against 2.4% in 2016), a deficit of  150.1 billion AMD. The profitable part of the state budget of Armenia  in 2017 will increase to 1 trillion.  210 billion AMD, expenditure -  to reduce to 1 trillion. 360 billion, the ratio of income/GDP - 22.4%  (against income/GDP - 21.8% in 2016). According to the latest data,  the Central Bank of Armenia improved its economic growth forecast for  2017 to 3.2-4.4% from the previously forecasted 2.2-3.2%.  The World  Bank in January forecast laid the GDP growth of Armenia in 2017 by  2.7%.  EDB expects GDP growth of Armenia in 2017 by 2.9%. Fitch  forecasted the growth of Armenia's GDP in 2017 by 2.1%, with  acceleration to 3.1% in 2018, the United Nations, to 2.7%, and ADB -  2.2%.