Small business owners hold protest 

ArmInfo.  On April 25, representatives of small and medium-sized businesses gathered in front of the Armenian government building to protest against the  increase in tax payments. The protesters expressed dissatisfaction  with the application of a 10% turnover tax rate instead of the  previously applied 5%.

As one of the protesters noted, the country's government has once  again deceived citizens. At the beginning of the year, RA Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that, for example, the rate for  dental services would increase by 10%, but for other areas it could  decrease to 1%.

However, later, when presenting the quarterly report on the results  of the first three months, it turned out that nothing of the sort was  and could not be. The protesters noted that a double increase in tax  rates could hit SMEs very hard and lead to the closure of many  enterprises. For example, they pointed out that when calculating the  10% rate, no one takes into account the cost of the manufactured  product, and taking this factor into account, the costs can amount to  25%. "Don't let things get to the point where we start a revolution,  this is a real government racket, we are not able to provide for  ourselves and also for the accountant's salary," one of the  protesters noted.

Another protester pointed out that SMEs reduce the unemployment rate  in the country. He noted that he no longer knows what will happen to  them, demanding a meeting with RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The turnover tax (replaces VAT and income tax) is paid by business  entities whose annual turnover does not exceed 115 million drams  (from January 1, 2020, Armenia returned to a non-taxable annual  turnover of up to 115 million drams). In June 2024, amendments were  adopted to the Tax Code, which entered into force at the beginning of  2025, implying an almost double increase in the turnover tax rate,  with the possibility of reducing the tax payable through documented  expenses. In particular, for entrepreneurs in the field of trade  activities, within the framework of the initiative, a rate of 10% of  income was established (instead of the previous 5%) with the  possibility of deducting 9.5% of expenses, but not less than 1.0% of  turnover (against the previous 4% of documented expenses, but not  less than 1.5% of turnover). As noted in the draft decision, as a  result, the effective tax will increase from 2.3% to 4.1%, providing  the state treasury with additional taxes in the amount of 4.9 billion  drams.