Armenia ruled by hooligans, say traders in Yerevan

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

"We live in a country of hooligans and that's include the country's rulers," - these words were uttered by salesmen in Yerevan. Traders have claimed that Armenia is now in the grip of a severe business orientated repression.

Newly applied turnover tax in Armenia continues to dirt the waters in business field despite obvious protests calling for its withdrawal.

Traders in Gnuni building materials and furniture trade center in Yerevan likened Armenia to a country ruled by swindlers and hooligans in light of the government's crackdown on business enterprises.

"The authorities, including Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan are hooligans and brainless creatures, who demand for 5 percent tax from trash sellers. It is like imposing a tax on a deceased man," said salesmen in the trade center.

The new law that came into force on March 1 urges the country’s marketplace workers to unconditionally submit relevant documents on their commodity circulation to the tax agencies. Otherwise, it will impose a fine on those business enterprises, which fail to submit all required documents.

Salesmen claim that the documentation of a large part of the goods in the market is impossible, which is why they argue that paying a 5 percent tax is absurdly wrong. They urged the government to stop such repression and to leave them work in peace.

"The market is almost dead given the already passivized trade. We can barely pay our rent and earn our daily bread. What does the government want from us?" complained desperate sellers.

When it became clear that there are teachers, sports trainers, former directors of manufacturing workshops among those earning a living from dirt and dust, the real picture of Armenia's poor social life began to take shape before the eyes.

Vendors said that the army of unemployed in the country was a direct result of the closure of almost all production facilities.

"Millionaire statesmen living in their luxurious mansions should not develop such a complicated tax law, which they themselves fail to explain," said the vendors.

Some 500 people representing small and medium businesses gathered in front of the government building in Yerevan in January to chant against the new law on turnover tax. Angry protesters even called on the prime minister to emerge before the crowd and lively respond to their complaints. Abrahamyan refused to address their complaints.

Small and medium business owners in Armenia have unanimously opposed the new law when it was first proposed earlier in October. The merchants claim that it is unrealistic to require necessary documents from large businesses, which belong to oligarchs in state power, since they often refuse to produce any document of the bargained products to the small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Armenian government, in turn, explains that the new law is part of an effort to combat tax evasion by large businesses in the country.

As Armenia failed to escape the recent worldwide economic crisis due to its lame domestic economy, the reports showed that the gap between the rich and poor in the country has deepened over 2014, making rich people richer, while pushing the poor further down on the ladder of misery.

Latest data by the National Statistics Committee recorded that 32 percent of Armenia's population is living in poverty, with even less than $20 income per month.