ArmInfo. In the context of the development of Armenia's statehood, one of the main problems was the lack of quality sectoral development strategies and their interconnection at the proper level. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on October 19, during his speech at a workshop on strategic planning organized by the State Revenue Committee (SRC) in Gyumri.
''Our government from the first days of its formation set itself the task of ensuring the development of short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies as the basis of its activity. And I'm glad to report that SRC played a rather constructive role in this matter, supporting the development of these processes in the RA government'', the Prime Minister said. In total, Nikol Pashinyan noted that he was pleased with the work of the SRC carried out over the past year and a half. ''The committee has solved the tasks set by me at the macro level. At the micro level, however, there are still numerous problems that need to be solved, and in this regard, the adoption of strategies is an extremely determining issue'', he emphasized.
To this, the prime minister added that the main task of the government and the SRC is to change the attitude of citizens towards taxes and tax obligations paid by them. In this regard, the Prime Minister emphasized the importance of changing citizens' attitude towards their work, as well as tax and customs officials' attitude in dealing with citizens. "Yes, this is a bilateral mutual process that should be carried out with the assistance of the government," Pashinyan said.
It is extremely important, in the opinion of the head of government, that the citizens of the Republic of Armenia realize that the funds that they pay to the state through the SRC are paid to themselves in order to have infrastructures, education, services, etc.
"Taxes are a contribution to their own lives, to the future of their children," Pashinyan emphasized. At the same time, he attached particular importance to the implementation of qualitative changes in the work of tax and customs departments, and in the work of the government, in particular.
''We have repeatedly talked about the fight against corruption, especially in the tax and customs sectors. But we also realize that, in addition to political will, there is a need to solve problems in certain areas, to increase wages continuously, but this should also mean raising the professional level of tax and customs officials to the proper level. This process can be compared with the chicken and the egg, but for us these are the most important, qualitative changes'', said the head of government, emphasizing that visible qualitative changes are the factor that for the whole government and the public legitimizes the increase in financial satisfaction. "And we must go this way," he stated. Continuing what was said, the Prime Minister emphasized that it was not only about what quality of services would be provided, but also about what opportunities for capital investments Armenia would have, how this would affect the stimulation of economic growth, so that tax bases and incomes recorded increase every year.
At the same time, the prime minister also touched on the fight against the shadow economy, where, according to him, unprecedented indicators were recorded. In this regard, Pashinyan emphasized that the government intends to continue in this direction by continuously increasing tax indicators, not forgetting that the priority in the process of collecting taxes and state expenditures should be to stimulate economic activity and growth.
In conclusion, he added that stimulating economic growth will hold back not only the financial, but also the psychological component. ''I believe that the mood of economic entities of the economic field is mainly due to the quality of communication that they have with the tax and customs authorities. I am sure that this quality will increase', he concluded .