Prosperous Armenia Party: Government may come across serious  resistance by a number of persons 

ArmInfo. The Armenian Government may come across serious resistance by a number of persons who have formed a status quo on the Armenian market over the past few years, Mikayel Melkumyan, lawmaker from the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) faction, said in Parliament, when expressing his faction's  stand on the Government's program.  

He said that the PAP faction will take no part in the voting on the  Government's program, because the document presented by Prime  Minister Karen Karapetyan on October 20 has a lot of unclear  wordings. In particular, it is necessary to understand what tools the  executive body is going to use to create equal conditions for the  economic entities. For instance, Marianna and Ashtarak Kat companies  have been holding domineering positions on the Armenian dairy market  for a long time and they will not be glad to see new competitors.  "Can the Government resist the pressure? The dairy market is close  for other producers," the MP said, noting that both companies are in  a difficult situation due to the previously attracted loans. 

He recalled that the high tax rates, customs and license payments,  social and utility payments are among the factors hindering economic  development. It is not clear whether the Government will quit its  current fiscal policy aimed at filling the budget with any kind of  funds. Melkumyan recalled that now there are nearly 80 thsd economic  entities that submit their reports to the tax structures. 9.6 thsd of  these 80 thsd economic entities pay VAT. This means that the state is  unable to fix the turnover of the small and medium enterprises. This  results in growth of shadow economy. The MP stressed the need to  legalize the expenditures, which will enhance the quality of  competition. But the Government's program lacks this, he added.