Armenian government perceives the development of small and medium  businesses as a prerequisite for inclusive economic growth

ArmInfo. The Armenian government notes the special role of small and medium-sized businesses and plans steps to eliminate barriers to the development of the sector. This is  stated in the program of activities of the Armenian Cabinet.

According to the document, steps will be taken to develop a business  culture, create a favourable legislative and institutional field and  develop the capacities of SMEs.

The government promises to assist citizens who want to start a  business "from scratch" in developing their potential and  implementing programs, providing them with a "business corridor" to  implement new business initiatives. For this purpose, the authorities  intend to cooperate with public structures representing the interests  of the SME community, in particular, through the formation and  development of regional business centers.

The authors of the program consider important the decision to exempt  microbusiness from taxation with an annual turnover of up to 24  million drams. By freeing this segment from income tax and turnover  tax, the government, according to the document, not only solves  social issues, but also gives them the opportunity to "transform"  their ideas into larger-scale projects. At the same time, the  executive branch notes the importance of developing other systems  encouraging the consolidation of SMEs and the implementation of  programs aimed at increasing the availability of finance for the  segment. According to the latest data of the National Center for SME  Development (SME DNC) for several years, the share of SMEs in the  structure of Armenia's GDP remains unchanged, at about 28%. As of the  beginning of July 2018, according to the National Center, out of 75  thousand SME business entities operating in Armenia 60% are private  entrepreneurs and only 40% are organizations.