“The goal is to collect information" - Armenian Finance Minister on the universal income declaration
YEREVAN, January 23. /ARKA/. The goal of implementing a universal income declaration system in Armenia is to collect information from citizens, said Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan.
"In order for the government to make decisions based on facts, they must be grounded in reliable data. To determine tax policy and assess the impact of our actions on different groups of society, we need a broad information base. We must understand what income our citizens earn, how much, and how often, in order to develop more targeted policies. This will apply to both tax policy and social decisions," Hovhannisyan said in an interview with PTA.
Hovhannisyan expressed confidence that citizens themselves want such decisions to be made, and for that, information is needed—this is how it works in developed countries.
The minister noted that the law on income declaration has been in effect in Armenia since 1994.
"This system has not been operational in recent years. We have created a new system, and now the declaration is mandatory. We do not have access to all the information about our citizens because of banking secrecy. The State Revenue Committee does not have access to the turnover of citizens' accounts. However, citizens can provide the State Revenue Committee with access so that information related to these accounts is automatically generated," Hovhannisyan said.
The head of the Ministry of Finance also addressed security concerns when filling out the declaration, specifically the risks of information leakage.
He stated that it is difficult to guarantee a situation in which any information is so secure that it is impossible to access. "Even in developed countries, information leaks happen. For example, today the State Revenue Committee has information on the amount of income tax paid. Does this information leak anywhere? I don't think so," Hovhannisyan noted.
About the declaration system
The universal income declaration system for citizens and residents has been implemented in Armenia since January 1, 2023, over a period of three years. According to the proposal, the declaration is pre-filled by the tax authorities, after which citizens verify the accuracy of the information provided.
The declaration must be submitted by all adult resident citizens before May 1 of each year following the reporting year.
In the first stage, this requirement applied to citizens holding community or public positions, as well as their family members; individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activity. Since 2024, declarations have also been submitted by employees in the private sector and those receiving income under civil contracts.
By 2025, declarations will be mandatory for all citizen-residents of Armenia who are not included in these two categories.
Penalties are imposed for non-compliance or delays: 50,000 drams for entrepreneurs and 5,000 drams for other citizens. ($1 = 398.84 drams)
