"Fact" daily writes:
During 2024, we did not have any achievements, and we had quite a lot of gaps.
Nairi Sargsyan, chairman of the Chamber of Auditors, expressed such an opinion in a conversation with "Past".
"From the beginning, we mentioned that in 2024 the budget was planned very wrongly and was not aimed at the full use of the economic potential and economic development. The economy continued to breathe and live under the logic of Western and Russian sanctions. Moreover, here we had a number of gaps, the economy could not take advantage of the opportunity.
First: 2024 In the meantime, we could not "keep" the relocants, and they moved to other countries. Consumption decreased in the Republic of Armenia also at their expense.
Second, car trade. they were imported to the Republic of Armenia and exported to Russia. As a result of the economic and tax and customs policy conducted by Armenia, they were also transferred to other countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, etc. , we could not formulate a re-export in the Republic of Armenia.
Those were the main mistakes and omissions," says Sargsyan, stressing that the government did not take steps to properly use the created situation.
There were also other general mistakes and omissions: "Armenia's potential was not fully used, that is, no work was done on the location of Russia's supplier factory in Armenia, and there was also a reduction in tourist flows.
In 2023, 50 percent of the visitors from Russia were by specific weight, and this year, approximately 42 percent.
Also, there was a reduction in remittances from Russia. They are all consequences of omissions," adds our interlocutor. What will the economic year be like in 2025 for the state and citizens?
Experts warn about the increase in the tax burden, inflation, and the growing state debt.
We have already announced that the planned tax revenues in 2024 will be underachieved, and in 2025 the growth of tax revenues in the state budget is more than predicted, so both the failure in 2024 and the economic complications predicted in 2025 will prevent the state revenues from being collected.
This means that the public debt will be spent on current expenses, which means that the economic potential will be wasted and consumed even more.
Such volumes of public debt will naturally lead to the imposition of many new taxes, increased taxation or expansion of tax bases.
Citizens, of course, cannot but feel this consequence on their own skin, because next year no income growth is planned or predicted, but expenditure growth is predicted and planned.
Those same tax increases, of course, are primarily about taxing the income of citizens, as well as general tax increases, tax rate increases will already lead to general inflation.
in 2025 "From the very beginning, we will witness increases in the rates of consumer goods and services, including public services, and then increases in the rates of various goods and services, that is, a year promising much more impoverishment is expected in 2025," says the Chairman of the Chamber of Auditors.
Many experts are of the opinion that this government, which is known for its populist statements and actions, is taking an uncharacteristic step by increasing the tax burden.
It turns out that the only way to "save" the economy is to increase the tax burden on businesses and citizens?
"I interpret this as a logical continuation of the current policy, because these people very consistently destroy the state, and in the case of consistently destroying, naturally, they plan the fiscal policy wrong from the beginning.
We have been talking about these mistakes for many years, they don't listen, and at the conclusion of each year, they understand what we say correctly and what they did wrong.
Not trying or taking steps to fix it after that means it's a deliberate plan.
On the one hand, I always talk about their purposeful dismantling of the state, but on the other hand, I always talk about their ignorance and illiteracy.
"Even the six-seven years of government was not enough to increase the skills, knowledge, etc. of these people, that is, these are irreparably ignorant, fighting ignorance is about them. We should always consider these two components in parallel in their case," he emphasizes.
At the base of every state's development is a strong economy.Political moves strengthen it or undermine its foundations.
Is a change of government the way to fix the situation, to change something and save it?
We started the activity of "Armenia is me" initiative in 2024. on the seventh of September.
Until today, we have already sent 16 proposals for radical changes to state departments.
On the one hand, when the government does not implement steps, we think that the intelligence is not enough, that is, it does not understand what to implement, it does not have the flight of thought or awareness to make changes.
On the other hand, as a technocratic team, "Armenia is me" initiative presented 16 proposals within three months, one of them is in the implementation phase.
They have to make legal acts, adopt a law by the end of the year, in the case of the rest, they don't even realize what we are warning about.
They answer that there is a need for additional justification, study, etc.
It turns out that the idea exists, but the government does not implement it.
"The actor is incompetent, so we need to change the actor. As a result, the government should be removed immediately so that we can save the Republic of Armenia," concludes Nairi Sargsyan.
Lusine Arakelyan
