Pashinyan: Our main task is to change the attitude of citizens  towards their tax obligations

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 .