ArmInfo.No action has been taken in Armenia to save businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Second RA President Robert Kocharyan stated this on August 27 in an interview with a number of the country's media.
According to him, entire industries that traditionally occupied the leading positions in the country's economy were on the verge of destruction.
The only exception is the mining industry, which largely depends on prices on world markets. In order to get out of the current situation, we should not talk about preferential loans, but about a number of measures, primarily tax benefits, during the year, for example, not to be taxed at all. When a business faces the question to be or not to be, a set of measures is needed. When the business is completely paralyzed, it is impossible to solve the problem by providing soft loans, which only increase the debt burden on the business. And the concept of preferential, according to Robert Kocharyan, is purely conditional, especially if we bear in mind that, for example, the terms of loans in Europe are much cheaper and softer than the terms of preferential lending in Armenia. "What we call preferential, in Europe is less than the average, and often even less," stressed the second President of the Republic of Armenia.
Robert Kocharyan believes that no serious steps have been taken to promote business. Moreover, the steps taken by the government in the social sector are presented as a virtue towards citizens.
