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ARMENIA'S TAX MOTTO: "SWINDLE THE POOR AND INVESTORS TO FEED GREEDY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS"
Edik Baghdasaryan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/18844/armenias-tax-motto-swindle-the-poor-and-investors-to-feed-greedy-government-officials.html
11:39, September 26, 2012
Of course, Armenia's State Revenue Committee works well. In fact,
this tax agency works in an excellent fashion.
In a tiny village in Gegharkouniq Province, local tax inspectors
unearthed a 78 year-old woman and charged her with avoiding tax
payments. They have fined the senior 500,000 AMD. This can be
considered a death sentence for the woman.
It's all part of President Sargsyan's drive to eliminate corruption.
Don't be surprised if the State Revenue Committee (SRC) includes
this incident in its financial reports as a prime example of how the
government is going full steam ahead to expose those attempting to
swindle the government.
Director of the SRC Gagik Khachatryan will most likely present
expensive watches as gifts to the tax inspectors who tracked down
the old woman for a job "well done". Khachatryan will probably buy
the watches from his son's store. Best to keep it all in the family.
Diaspora Armenians investor Edmond Khoudyan says his company Arin
Capital hasn't paid $1.5 million in owed taxes. He adds that the head
of the Spandaryan Tax Department was aware of the non-payment.
Khoudyan has named names of co-conspirators within the tax agency but
so far no criminal charges have been brought. After numerous complaints
and petitions by Khoudyan, criminal charges of premeditated bankruptcy
were brought and law enforcement has deemed this to signal the end
of their work.
To date, no one has been regarded as a suspect, or a victim. Today,
officials of various levels reside in the building where the
apartmen6ts had been sold, thus creating a tax liability.
These apartments are registered in the names of family members and
friends. The real owners are concealed under a mound of diverting
paperwork.
The actual owners got these apartments on the cheap and on the sly,
through their government connections.
This is a financial quagmire created by the government itself. It's a
self-sustaining network well protected by various officials who feed
at its trough.
"The President of the SRC and the General Prosecutor are hindering
the examination of my case. Lernik Hovhannisyan, the investigating
prosecutor, is doping all in his power to sideline any investigation.
And the pillage is continuing even while the case is being examined. I
really don't know who in Armenia I can turn to next to put a halt to
these illegalities," Khoudyan told Hetq.
His lawyers say they have reached the end of the legal rope and that
the system itself is powerless.
Khoudyan defiantly declares that he will fight on until justice
is served.
But what can lawyers and investors achieve when the laws don't work.
I've been thinking that the government should adopt a plan similar
to the campaign to get businesses to issue sales receipts to customers.
It could, perhaps, issue "plunder permits" to state functionaries
and other bureaucrats.
It would similar to a "Get ut of Jail" card in Monopoly.
The permits would eliminate all the fuss and confusion and the average
citizen in the street or foreign investor would no for sure that they
are dealing with a bunch of crooks.
(Photo: Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan; SRC President Gagik
Khachatryan)
Edik Baghdasaryan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/18844/armenias-tax-motto-swindle-the-poor-and-investors-to-feed-greedy-government-officials.html
11:39, September 26, 2012
Of course, Armenia's State Revenue Committee works well. In fact,
this tax agency works in an excellent fashion.
In a tiny village in Gegharkouniq Province, local tax inspectors
unearthed a 78 year-old woman and charged her with avoiding tax
payments. They have fined the senior 500,000 AMD. This can be
considered a death sentence for the woman.
It's all part of President Sargsyan's drive to eliminate corruption.
Don't be surprised if the State Revenue Committee (SRC) includes
this incident in its financial reports as a prime example of how the
government is going full steam ahead to expose those attempting to
swindle the government.
Director of the SRC Gagik Khachatryan will most likely present
expensive watches as gifts to the tax inspectors who tracked down
the old woman for a job "well done". Khachatryan will probably buy
the watches from his son's store. Best to keep it all in the family.
Diaspora Armenians investor Edmond Khoudyan says his company Arin
Capital hasn't paid $1.5 million in owed taxes. He adds that the head
of the Spandaryan Tax Department was aware of the non-payment.
Khoudyan has named names of co-conspirators within the tax agency but
so far no criminal charges have been brought. After numerous complaints
and petitions by Khoudyan, criminal charges of premeditated bankruptcy
were brought and law enforcement has deemed this to signal the end
of their work.
To date, no one has been regarded as a suspect, or a victim. Today,
officials of various levels reside in the building where the
apartmen6ts had been sold, thus creating a tax liability.
These apartments are registered in the names of family members and
friends. The real owners are concealed under a mound of diverting
paperwork.
The actual owners got these apartments on the cheap and on the sly,
through their government connections.
This is a financial quagmire created by the government itself. It's a
self-sustaining network well protected by various officials who feed
at its trough.
"The President of the SRC and the General Prosecutor are hindering
the examination of my case. Lernik Hovhannisyan, the investigating
prosecutor, is doping all in his power to sideline any investigation.
And the pillage is continuing even while the case is being examined. I
really don't know who in Armenia I can turn to next to put a halt to
these illegalities," Khoudyan told Hetq.
His lawyers say they have reached the end of the legal rope and that
the system itself is powerless.
Khoudyan defiantly declares that he will fight on until justice
is served.
But what can lawyers and investors achieve when the laws don't work.
I've been thinking that the government should adopt a plan similar
to the campaign to get businesses to issue sales receipts to customers.
It could, perhaps, issue "plunder permits" to state functionaries
and other bureaucrats.
It would similar to a "Get ut of Jail" card in Monopoly.
The permits would eliminate all the fuss and confusion and the average
citizen in the street or foreign investor would no for sure that they
are dealing with a bunch of crooks.
(Photo: Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan; SRC President Gagik
Khachatryan)