Mikael Melkoumian: Armenia expects serious inflation

ArmInfo. In order to fulfill  the budget of 2017, the Armenian government until the end of the  year, for the upcoming 4 months should collect 424 billion AMD in the  line of taxes, while statistics show that on average over the past  months of this year, about 90 billion AMD were collected monthly.  Vice-speaker from the bloc, Mikael Melkumian, announced  this from the rostrum of the Armenian parliament.

According to him, today we can say that the government is unlikely to  be able to fulfill the budget of 2017.  "In order to implement the  main financial document for 2017, the government under the guise of"  optimization "is going to seriously cut jobs in the public sector,  which in turn will lead to increased poverty and emigration," the  deputy noted.

According to him, the way out of this situation is either to ensure  real economic growth, or to reduce the shadow, otherwise the country  will face serious inflation, which has already begun.

Meanwhile, on September 13 this year, head of the State Revenue  Committee of the Republic of Armenia Vardan Harutyunyan said during  the meeting with the IMF delegation in Armenia that retail trade  increased volumes by 6.4% and ensured the growth of tax revenues to  the state budget by 35%, which is the result of the work of the State  Committee on Incomes to bring business out of the shadows. In  particular, V.  Harutyunyan noted that the increase in tax revenues  is due to the reduction of inspections by 48% and the return in the  first half of the overpayment in the amount of 22 billion AMD.  Harutyunyan assured that the SRC will provide tax revenues of 1.135  trillion AMD to the budget. (exactly so much is laid down in the  Budget-2017 ed.), noting in this connection the impact on GDP growth  of the work of the State Committee for Combating the Shadow Economy.

At the same time, on September 28, at a government meeting, referring  to media publications, according to which the Government discusses  the possibility of sequestering the state budget-2017, Armenian  Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan stated: "I officially declare that  there is nothing like that." We have a very clear ideology that is  fixed in the draft budget for 2017 and this course will continue also  in the budget for 2018.  "The idea, as the minister explained, is to  exercise some restraint in planning current expenditures, placing  emphasis on capital expenditures, which promise to turn into a  multiplier effect in the country's economy.

To note, the Budget-2017 provides nominal GDP growth of 5% or 5405  bln AMD. Total revenues, according to the budget of this year, amount  to 1 trillion. 210 billion AMD (the ratio of income to GDP - 22.4%),  of which taxes - 1 trillion 135 billion AMD. Expenses will amount to  1 trillion 360 billion AMD (the ratio of expenditures to GDP is  25.2%), and the deficit is 150 billion (the deficit-to-GDP ratio is  2.8%).