The "Fact" daily writes:
The companies implementing urban development programs in Armenia are warning, since March 1 of this year the government has begun to demand property tax for unstructured or semi-built buildings. According to the representatives of the developing companies, the relevant law adopted the National Assembly in early 2023, but so far it has not been launched. The law seemed to be forgotten.
The authorities have rememinated this year only after it becomes clear that the government is no longer able to manage a large gap in the budget. Instead of resolving the issue, Pashinyan's government went to the famous way, to tax and fine everyone and everything. Well, do you remember that there was a time when the citizen was not fine materials? At those times, the law of property tax is a pregnancy for not built or non-built or semi-constructed buildings. It started discussed in 2022. At that time, the authorities claimed that the law was adopted in every city of the country "to solve the problem of endless constructions." The goal was allegedly that the government's liability for non-built or completed buildings would reach the fact that the developers will quickly complete their urban development programs.
Later, however, to solve the same problem, the authorities have the right to set local duties and payments to the developers to not complete their construction plan or to prolong the construction permit to a few hundred million drams. This was already a major blow to the developers, because in the design and planning phase of urban development, they could not even imagine that they could face the problem.
In order to mitigate the wave of protests, the government decided not to apply the requirements of the law of property tax for unstructured or semi-built buildings and wait for a convenient moment. The developers were hinted that the law would not come into force. However, as it is often in the case of Pashinyan's government, they did not keep that promise. The deceived developers who have to pay community duties without any of the tools that have been deprived of market stimulation, such as the law of returns of income tax appeared in an invincible situation.
It should be noted that it should be clear to what the volume of problem is about building permission in Yerevan today about 3 million square meters of buildings. These projects are still under construction, and soon they will have to pay property tax yet. In this case, it is about 1/5 of the country's GDP.
It turns out that the government endangers the future of the country's economy to fill in today's budget. Of course, this is one of the realities that characterize Pashinyan's government.
