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%.