Epress.am News from Armenia
A group of shopkeepers in various Yerevan shopping centers today again gathered outside the government offices to demand that the tax authorities stop the continual inspections they have been conducting at the demonstrators’ shops over the past several weeks. The protesters also wanted to meet with members of the government to discuss possible solutions to the problem.
“We want to be able to pay the fees all at once; [the authorities] should also charge the 1.5% sales tax when we are paying the 32% import duty. We would like the state to collect all of the fees on the spot and let us do our work quietly,” Armen Nersisyan, a shopkeeper at Yerevan’s Arinj Mall, said in conversation with Epress.am.
Demonstrator Narine Mikayelyan, for her part, stated that the shopkeepers haven’t been able to work properly for the past 4 days. She added that their clients who buy their goods wholesale for resale have been avoiding going to the mall, fearing that the tax officials would begin inspecting them as well.
“[Trade] is our only way to make a living, and if the authorities keep bothering us like this, we will all just leave the country,” Mikayelyan said.
Some time later, a small group of demonstrators was invited to a meeting with representatives of the government’s State Revenue Committee. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Armen Nersisyan said the officials have promised that the tax officials would stop troubling the shopkeepers until the parties have discussed the issue in detail.
“We have to create a group of lawyers and economists and present our demands to the government in a more professional manner. Once the officials discuss the issue with this group, they might be prepared to meet us halfway. I can assure you all that you can all go home with a peaceful mind. Mr. [Garegin] Arakelyan [Head of the Committee’s Operative Investigation Department] also promised that none of the shopkeepers would have any problems for the time being,” Nersisyan told the rest of the demonstrators.