ArmInfo. In the medium term, it is permissible to allocate budget funds to professional research on certain draft laws, but expenditure priorities will need to be determined.
This was stated by RA Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan on October 29 at parliamentary hearings on the draft 2026 state budget of Armenia, responding to a corresponding initiative by Babken Tunyan, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Economic Affairs.
The MP, in particular, noted that research is often necessary on draft laws of a global nature, such as the draft law on universal income declaration for individuals. However, the country's parliament does not have the capacity to allocate a portion of its funds to the issue of professional assessment and the impact of a particular law on citizens' lives. He proposed considering a 2% increase in budgetary allocations for the National Assembly in the medium term, which would be used to address this issue.
In response, the minister noted that any steps aimed at improving the quality of public financial management are justified. He noted that the government is taking steps to improve the quality of decision- making. Hovhannisyan emphasized that the authorities aim to reduce the state budget deficit to 2.9% of the country's GDP by 2028. This year, the deficit will be reduced by 1%. To achieve this goal, it will be necessary to determine expenditure reduction priorities, and in this context, it is important to determine where to cut and where to increase budget allocations.
