The RA Internal Revenue Service (STS) has published the list of the biggest taxpayers of the first three months of 2006. The main difference of this list from the previous ones is that this list includes 1000 tax payers, when this number used to be 300 before.
They did this with the purpose of enabling citizens be more informed about the biggest Armenian companies. We were informed from the STS press secretary Mary Harutyunyan that they will also include 1000 companies in the list of the largest Armenian taxpayers.
According to their official information the budget tax incomes of these three months cover 43,2 billion drams, which exceeds the same mark of last year by 8 billion. Starting from last year the body responsible for collecting social security payments is the RA IRS. These social security payments of the past three months cover 15,3 billion dram.
According to the list of the last trimester of 2005, the list of the 2006 trimester will include both tax and customs payments as well.
The biggest 1000 tax payers paid 61,21 billion drams (33,66 billion drams as tax payments, 27,55 billion drams as customs payments). VAT payments cover most part of this sum (33,27 billion or 54,35%). The second share is filled by income tax payments.
The marks of the first biggest companies are very interesting. The first 20 biggest companies have paid 28,55 billion drams to the state budget. This covers 46,6% of the total sum that these 1000 biggest tax payers paid. The list of the biggest companies of Armenia is headed by the Copper-Molybdenum factory of Zangezur as last year (5 billion drams).
Armentel comes in second and paid 3,8 billion drams tax during these three months, when Flash company, which imports gas to Armenia, placed third last year, this year comes in fourth place, thus ceding to ArmRusGazard. During these three months ArmRusGazard paid 3,2 billion drams. It may go up by one next year. The mentioned list is based only on the first trimester of this year. As we know, as of April 1 ArmRusGazard had to pay almost twice more money to Gazprom. Accordingly in the future it will pay almost 1,5 more taxes to the budget. Taking into account the fact that almost 93% of the tax payments of ArmRusGazard covers indirect taxes, it is possible that these tax payments may cover about 7,5-8 billion drams during the coming three months. The total sum that ArmRusGazard paid as taxes to the budget in 2005 covered 8,96 billion drams.
The CPS company, which imports gas to Armenia is the next one after Flash. The sixth place is given to “Pares Armenia” company importing cigarettes to Armenia. Last year K-Telecom used to be in the 15th place, but this year it places 7th (1,5 billion drams). The Armenian Power Distribution Network, Grand Tobacco and Atomic station have kept their positions and place 8-10th accordingly. These three companies together paid 3,3 billion drams to the state budget.
Yerevan Brandy Company, which paid 2,69 billion drams in 2005, during these three months paid 411 million and fills the 20th place.
The last one on the list is “Mkrtchyan and sons” company. The Mkrtchyans paid 6,79 million drams to the budget and are in the 1000th place.
This year most of the companies included in this list will change their places based on different economical factors.
Last year after presenting a report to the prime minister, the head of the RA IRS, Felix Tsolakyan said that publishing lists of the biggest taxpayers encouraged businesses. The only thing we can do now is to wait and see how this list will encourage businesses.