The Armenian government on September 17 approved amendments to the Tax Code that would launch a mechanism for voluntary transfers funded from personal income tax paid by individuals. The money could be directed to public organizations, legal entities engaged in media activity, and political parties.
Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan said Armenia already has an income declaration system under which citizens file annual declarations and, through social credits, can recover part of their spending on healthcare and education from the income tax they have paid.
The bill proposes expanding the scope of social expenses. In particular, it would also treat as social expenses the funds that an individual transfers free of charge to public organizations, legal entities carrying out media activities, or political parties.
The amendments also stipulate that the government will set maximum social expense amounts, define the areas of activity of eligible organizations, establish selection criteria, and determine the list of information to be submitted to the tax authority along with the procedure for disclosure and publication. Relevant lists of organizations will be compiled and published by the tax authority.
Individuals who submit income declarations will have to choose the organizations electronically and specify the amount that the state body should transfer to the recipient.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the draft law could create additional opportunities for public organizations, media outlets and individual entrepreneurs. At the same time, he stressed that citizens need to take a more active part in the income declaration process.
Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said the initiative should be built around the principle of integrity. According to her, public organizations should submit annual financial reports, while media outlets should avoid falsification.
She also said a legislative package on media self-regulation is already with the Prime Minister's Office and will soon be submitted for government approval. Among other things, the package would introduce possible integrity scores for media outlets.
