Unprecedented success recorded in fight against shadow: Pashinyan satisfied with SRC work
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is satisfied with the work of the State Revenue Committee carried out in the past one and a half year.
During a strategic planning workshop of the Committee organized today in Gyumri, the PM said the SRC has solved its tasks at the macro level, but there are still many problems at the micro level which need to be solved.
“I think in the context of the development of our statehood one of the major problems has been the absence of sectoral qualified strategies, as well as the absence of the sufficient level of mutual partnership with the remaining sectoral strategies. And from the first days of its formation our government has set a task to put strategies based on its activity which will be one strategy – short-term, medium-term and long-term. And I am happy to record that the SRC has played a very constructive role in this regard and constantly encouraged this activity in the government. And by taking this chance, I want to state that in general I am satisfied with the work of the Committee of the past 1.5 year and to note that the SRC has solved its tasks at the macro-level, but there are still many problems in the micro level which must be solved. And in this regard the adoption of a strategy is very important to solve these issues”, the PM said.
Pashinyan said by saying strategy they first of all understand a task to improve the administration, procedures and services provision. “But I want to highlight the issue of the political level and will formulate it in the following way that the Committee’s and our main strategic task in this sphere is to change the citizen’s attitude towards the taxes he/she pays, towards the tax duties. But here the SRC employees, tax servants, customs agents should also change their attitude towards their job and the attitude existing in contacts with all citizens. This is a bilateral mutual process, and it should take place under the auspices of the government. The government should encourage both the citizens and the SRC staff, should assist them to make these changes real”, the PM said.
Pashinyan attached importance to the fact that all citizens should clearly know that the money they pay to the state via the SRC, they pay that to themselves, pay for having infrastructures, services and education in their country. “Because agree with me that it would be strange if each citizen constructed a road for himself, build a school, etc. This is impossible. And the money citizens pay is just an investment in their life, for their future and the future of their kids. And in order for this perception to develop, it’s very important to make a work qualitative change in the SRC’s tax and customs spheres, and also it’s very important to have a qualitative change in the government’s work”, he said.
The PM said they specifically highlight the fight against corruption in customs and tax spheres, but stated that in addition to the political will, the solution of this issue also requires solutions in some other fields, including constant increase in salaries. “But the increase in salary should mean also a proper level of professional quality of our citizens working in tax and customs agencies”, he noted.
“The fight against shadow can in no way be out of our agenda. We have an unprecedented success in the fight against shadow in the past 1.5 year, but I want to state that we do not consider these achievements as the highest and will continue to move consistently on this path, by constantly raising taxes-GDP rate, but not forgetting that the promotion of economic growth and activity in the tax collection process, state expenditure process should be a priority”, Nikol Pashinyan said.
