Thursday, June 21 2018 12:42

ArmInfo. On June 21, the Armenian parliament approved the amendments to the tax legislation of the country aimed at improving the business environment, increasing  tax administration and fighting the manifestations of the shadow  economy at the second and final reading on June 21.

According to RA Deputy Minister of Finance Arman Poghosyan, it is  envisaged, in particular, to provide commercial banks and credit  organizations with the opportunity to write off penalties and fines  for arrears in unpaid loans. Amendments relate exclusively to  individuals whose loans until May 31 of this year. were considered  hopeless.

At the same time, commercial banks will be allowed not to pay tax on  profits from those fines and penalties, from which they will refuse.  At present, they do not have such a right, paying a tax on profits,  regardless of whether the fine is collected or not. For individuals,  another amnesty is provided for non- payment of VAT in transactions  involving the sale of cars, apartments, houses, industrial, public  and other premises. This category of citizens will be exempt from  payment of fines and penalties if within 90 days from the moment the  law comes into force, it will pay the principal amount of tax.

The initiative will also review fines for unregistered workers. So,  if there are hidden employees, the companies will pay a fine of 250  thousand AMD, regardless of the number of employees. The Cabinet also  proposes to halve the environmental tax on cars. The bill also  proposes to free Iranian trucks from road tax if they are at a  distance of up to one kilometer from the border. It is also proposed  to exclude labeling for certain types of goods.

Taxation of the public catering sphere is also being revised. The  proposed rate for the turnover tax for the sphere will be equal to  10% of the turnover, while giving the opportunity for the business  entity to withdraw from the obligation 6% of the documented expenses,  but not less than 3% of the turnover. Thus, if the company's income  for the quarter was 10 million drams, 10% of the amount, that is, 1  million drams, will be its obligation to pay tax on turnover.  However, if the organization functions with a 25% profitability - 7.5  million is the firm's expenses and all expenses are documented, then  6% of these 7.5 million drams - about 450 thousand drams will be  deducted from 1 million drams.

In fact, for catering facilities, the real amount of tax liabilities  will be about 5.5% of turnover. At the same time, cash registers will  be used again at these facilities. It is also planned to introduce an  electronic system for fulfilling tax obligations. The right to  conduct extraordinary inspections will be given to the Prime Minister  of the Republic of Armenia.