ArmInfo. Lawyer Varazdat Harutyunyan gave a clear example of how the state policy works to organize a "prosperous and carefree" life for Armenian citizens.
As the lawyer explained on his Facebook page, while the bill on transferring advocacy to the general taxation system was adopted by the standing committee on economic issues of the National Assembly in 1 day, the parliamentary bill on increasing tax rates for bookmaking, which has become a scourge for Armenia, is constantly being postponed.
Harutyunyan drew attention to the fact that as a result of the new law, the taxation of advocacy, which is the most important component of legal assistance enshrined in the Constitution of Armenia, has increased approximately 6 times. "Meanwhile, the parliamentary bill on increasing tax rates for bookmaking, which has become a national disaster and tragedy, has been under consideration for several months. Members of the economic commission of the same National Assembly continue to delay its discussion, calling for "caution and avoidance of hasty decisions," the lawyer explained, adding that this is just one example of how state policy works to organize the "prosperous and carefree" life of citizens.
Earlier, the National Assembly of Armenia's Committee on Economic Affairs issued a positive opinion on the amendments to the Tax Code submitted by Hayk Sargsyan, a member of the National Assembly from the ruling Civil Contract faction, at the first reading. Thus, according to the proposed amendments, the gambling sector of Armenia may be subject to a 10% turnover tax in addition to the existing taxes and duties. Sargsyan was outraged by the fact that the taxation of small and medium-sized businesses was increased to 10%, while the gambling sector, which has become a serious headache for citizens, continues to operate in comfortable "privileged conditions". He also admitted that the legislative changes adopted over the past 5 years aimed at restricting the gambling business have not met expectations. For this reason, as Sargsyan noted, it is necessary to increase the tax burden again. In turn, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Republic of Armenia Arman Poghosyan reported that the presented document was not discussed in the Armenian government, and, therefore, the executive body does not have any position on it. At the same time, he noted that the state duty currently applied also applies to bets on games with winnings.
We will add that in connection with the amendments initiated by the government, which were adopted by parliament, the taxation of legal activity will increase from the current 5% to more than 30%. In addition, the accounting procedure will change: if previously it was conducted on the basis of turnover, now it will be necessary to take into account expenses, which will lead to additional costs.
Lawyers criticized this initiative of the authorities, noting that this will significantly increase the cost of their services for citizens and may lead to a situation where certain segments of the population will be deprived of the opportunity to use legal assistance.
