Half of Armenian citizens do not intend to file income tax returns

YEREVAN, January 29. /ARKA/. The results of a survey conducted by the Armenian office of the GALLUP International Association showed that the newly introduced system of universal income declaration has caused dissatisfaction among citizens, with almost half of the respondents indicating their intention not to fill it out.
According to the survey, 18.5% of respondents will definitely fill out the declaration, 19.1% are likely to do so, 18.2% are unlikely to do so, and 31.7% will definitely not fill it out.
At the same time, only 9.8% of respondents stated they are fully aware of how to fill out the declaration, 18.9% are partially informed, 16.1% are somewhat uninformed, and 52.9% of citizens indicated they do not know how to fill out the declaration.
About the Declaration System
The system of universal income declaration for citizens and residents has been implemented in Armenia since January 1, 2023, and will continue for three years. As stated by Armenia’s former Minister of Finance, Tigran Khachatryan, in November 2022, the declaration were to be pre-filled by the tax authorities. The idea was that data available to the tax authorities would be automatically entered into the declaration, after which it would be sent via email for review.
Under the new procedure, all adult resident citizens must submit a declaration.
In the first stage, declarations were submitted by citizens holding community or public positions and their family members, as well as individuals engaged in entrepreneurial activities.
In the second stage, beginning in 2024, declarations were filled out by employees in the private sector and workers who received income under civil law contracts.
Starting in 2025, declarations will need to be submitted by all resident citizens of the country who do not fall into the two aforementioned groups.
Citizens are required to submit their declarations by May 1 of each year following the reporting year. Failure to comply or late submission will result in fines — 50,000 drams for entrepreneurs and 5,000 drams for other citizens. ($1 = 398.36 drams).