A law enacted by the government in 2023 ago calls for a gradual introduction of universal income declaration in the country, which has until now been obligatory only for senior state officials and members of their families. Government officials have said that it will further complicate tax evasion and make it easier for the authorities to identify people who are really in need of government aid.
The more than 700,000 Armenians who have officially registered jobs or businesses were initially required submit such declarations electronically by May 1, 2025. They had to report not only their wages but also remittances or other cash donations exceeding 300,000 drams ($780) per transfer.
In January, the government extended the deadline to November 1, saying that most citizens do not have new ID cards that are necessary for the financial disclosure. The decision came amid growing complaints about a lack of clarity in the disclosure procedures. The fact that the electronic filing system created by the State Revenue Committee (SRC) still did not function properly added to the public discontent.
The discontent did not seem to ease in the following months. The head of the SRC, Eduard Hakobian, said last month that only 92,000 people have filed income declarations to date.
Babken Tunian, a parliament deputy from the ruling Civil Contract, announced earlier this week that those Armenians who earn no revenue apart from their legal wages or other income “visible” to the SRC will no longer have to log on to a relevant website to fill out an income declaration. They make up the vast majority of the citizens subject to financial disclosure.
Tunian gave no reason for the effective scrapping of universal income declaration. The Armenian parliament controlled by Civil Contract is expected to meet in the coming days to make appropriate changes to the law.
The government’s about-face comes less than a year before parliamentary elections in which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his party will be fighting hard for their political survival. Pashinian’s political opponents have accused him of seeking to increase the tax burden on the population through the declaration system. The premier and his allies have denied that.