Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian Minister of Finance Vache Gabrielyan met with a few writers and publishers who are concerned with amendments to the Customs Code of the Republic of Armenia that stipulate a 20% increase in the cost of certain books in 2012.
At a press conference today, Antares Media Holding President Armen Martirosyan told reporters that the ministry promised within 15 days to provide explanations as to why the law was “misread” by the tax authorities. Recall, since the beginning of this year, booksellers have been required to pay 20% VAT (value-added tax), not on the profit of the book sold, but on the entire cost of the book; that is, the cost that the consumer pays.
Publishers believe there’s a lack of respect toward books. “A book is not a product — it’s a cultural, sacred value. In Germany, a book is taxed at 7%; in the Ukraine and Slovakia, 0%. Why do they say they can’t award privileges when, for example, cement sacks and cigarette packs are exempt from [paying] VAT?” asked Martirosyan.
“I don’t think there’s a bad attitude [toward books], there just isn’t ANY attitude — see who’s running the country. They can’t collect taxes from the oligarchs,” said writer Aram Pachyan, who launched the group “We are against raising the price of books” on Facebook.
According to Martirosyan, the publisher, the amendment to the customs code deprives books of privileges and taxes them based on the same principle as all other retail products.
“That is, they say, if you’re doing the work of major businesses, you import [goods] and get 1 million in profit, then you have to pay VAT,” he said.
The media holding president recalled that about a year before the amendment, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, in a meeting with 14 publishers, promised to remove the VAT from books, but that promise hasn’t yet been fulfilled.
Pachyan, the writer, added that his group will send a letter to the prime minister tomorrow and, depending on the answer, will begin other campaigns.
It’s important to note that Yerevan has been designated the UNESCO World Book Capital in 2012.