ArmInfo.The results of 2023 indicate that the real (export) economy has "lost" its position to non-export industries, which are experiencing a temporary boom under the influence of exogenous factors, Former head of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia Davit Ananyan wrote on his Facebook account, commenting on the "List of the 1000 largest taxpayers of the Republic of Armenia" recently published by the tax authority.
"Based on certain shifts in the top ten large taxpayers, one can get a quick idea of the economic structure of Armenia at the impulse level, he wrote.
The economist notes that the top three leaders have remained the same: for the second year in a row, the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine tops the list of the largest taxpayers in Armenia (the company sent AMD 70.8bln to the state treasury in 2023, with an annual decline of 50.8% - ed.), on JV "Grand Tobacco" moved up to second position, from the 3rd position a year earlier (having paid AMD 55.3bln to the state budget, with an annual growth of 22.9% -ed.), CJSC "Gazprom Armenia" dropped to the third position, from 2 the previous year (directing AMD 48.5bln to the state budget, with an annual decline of 7.1% -ed.).
Once again in the top ten, Mobile Center Art (from the 7th year earlier moved up to fourth position, paying AMD 46.1bln to the state treasury, an increase of 2.6 times over the year - ed.), JTI Armenia (moved down to 10th from 8 1 year earlier - ed.) and CPS Energy Group (remained in 9th position).
"It is noteworthy that, compared to last year, in 2023 the companies International Masis Tabak, Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine, Philip Morris Armenia and MTS Armenia were not included in the top ten. Meanwhile, Pretty Way (electrical and household appliances store "Vesta", jumping from 22nd position in 2022 - ed.), Wildberries (jumping to 6th from 346th position a year earlier - ed. .), "Ameriabank" (jumped to 7th position from 24 a year earlier - ed.) and "Ardshinbank" (to 8th position from 29th a year earlier - ed.) in the top 10 in 2023," the expert notes.
Mr Ananyan notes that the appearance of Wildberries in the top ten large taxpayers is a direct result of the fact that the latter became a large VAT payer as a result of legislative changes in 2023, and the "improvement" of the positions of the Mobile Center Art company, as well as the company's appearance on this list Pretty Way is a direct result of more than a sharp increase in the volume of imports of equipment, mainly phones and computers, and sales (re-exports) on the Russian market due to the Russian- Ukrainian conflict.
"The appearance of Ameriabank and Ardshinbank, representing the banking sector of Armenia, in the top ten large taxpayers directly reflects the fact of super-profits in the banking sector of Armenia due to a sharp increase in the volume of services provided to Russians who moved to Armenia," the economist concludes.
According to the State Revenue Committee, in the period from January to December 2023, 1,000 large taxpayers paid over AMD 1,710, 577,000,000. The amount of payments to the tax authority amounted to over AMD 1,308,983,000,000, and the amount of payments to the customs authority amounted to about AMD 401.594.
