Ex-official on political implications behind economic decision

ArmInfo. Former head of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia David Ananyan believes that the latest legislative initiative of the SRC to abolish incentive norms for exemption from criminal liability may become a "bad precedent", lead to the creation of uncertainty and obstacles for business, which, in turn, will have a negative impact on economic stability and the legal trust of entrepreneurs in the system.

"In the world practice of recent decades, there has been a clear trend towards decriminalization of tax and economic crimes. The main goal of this strategy is to create a legal framework that will support the normal activities of the main subjects of the country's economic life: entrepreneurs and corporate organizations," David Ananyan noted on his Facebook account.

According to him, decriminalization (reducing the level of criminalization) of tax and economic offenses, all other things being equal (i.e., subject to other necessary conditions for business development, including regulation of internal and external security issues) contributes to the formation of a favorable business climate, stimulates economic activity and attracts investment. At the same time, the expert noted, economic stability and growth largely depend on business confidence in the impartiality and fairness of the legal system.

Therefore, one of the most important tasks of the state is to establish such rules of tax regulation that will allow for effective collection of taxes without creating unnecessary obstacles to entrepreneurial activity.  This is why many countries seek to reduce the level of influence of law enforcement agencies on business, replacing criminal sanctions with administrative and financial measures, he added.

However, the fact that legal regulation of tax processes is often influenced by political conditions is alarming. In such conditions, situations may arise when decisions are made not on the basis of objective economic indicators and legal norms, but in accordance with current political considerations>, Ananyan noted, pointing to the latest initiative of the State Revenue Committee.

Meanwhile, he believes that in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and ensure long-term development, it is necessary to strive to minimize political influence on tax regulation processes.

, the former head of the Tax and Customs Committee summed up.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that the State Revenue Committee decided to abandon incentive norms, stating that they contribute to the commission of tax crimes, and the legal grounds for recognizing exemption from criminal liability by compensating for property damage caused by a crime hinder and do not provide an opportunity to prevent the commission of new tax crimes. The bill was met with extreme negative reactions from the business community and expert circles.

Thus, the Chairman of the Union of Entrepreneurs "Mantashiants" Vahram Mirakyan believes that the State Revenue Committee plans to imprison about a thousand businessmen annually, since the initiative proposes not to release a businessman from prison even after paying the amount of the predicted violation. The Chairman of the public organization "Protection of Taxpayers" Paylak Tadevosyan warned of bad consequences, pointing to the law enforcement practice in Armenia, where "in many cases criminal cases are initiated without serious grounds". "Maybe straight to the scaffold?" asked in turn the expert of the human rights organization "Citizen-Taxpayer-Business" Eduard Badalyan.