Friday, 30 January 2015
SME Development Council Discusses Amendments to Turnover Tax Law
Chaired by Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, the SME Development Council held a regular meeting ub the Office of Government.
The meeting first heard the Secretariat’s report on the activities carried out in 2014. It was noted that in order to encourage SMEs periodic meetings and discussions had been held on behalf of the Prime Minister involving the representatives of the business community, interested State bodies and public organizations, as well as public awareness raising campaigns to identify the problems and look at eventual solutions
To streamline the regulations applicable in this field, a number of legal acts came into force on January 9, 2015, while a number of other problems are under consideration at this point of time.
The Council discussed and took note of the report. Pleased with the work done so far, the Prime Minister pointed to the importance of continued involvement of SMEs in the development of each initiative.
The meeting also discussed issues relating to the amendments to the law on turnover tax, and, in particular, the entry into force of the requirement of documentation.
The Prime Minister said he had already received a delegation of those tradesmen involved in the protest action stage in front of the Government Building, listened to their comments on the aforementioned legislative changes.
Hovik Abrahamyan suggested discussing the proposals submitted by the protesters, namely that the law should be optional for application, a higher turnover threshold should be established and the tax authority should be allowed limited number of checks.
During the exchange of views that followed, the Council members presented their own considerations in order to find a mutually acceptable solution.
Summarizing the discussion, the Prime Minister thanked the audience for participation, noting that the government will discuss in detail all the proposals and observations voiced during the meeting.
