YEREVAN, January 31. /ARКА/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today that banking secrecy cannot be inaccessible to the state.
“There is no such thing as banking secrecy not being accessible to the state. Today, in democratic countries the banking secrecy is no longer a ‘sacred cow’. It can be revealed,” he said at a press conference.
Pashinyan noted that the poor should not be concerned about the accessibility of banking secrecy, and the wealthy should not have problems either if they do not have outstanding tax obligations.
He noted that, for example, if a person has a large bank deposit, this does not provide for any additional tax obligations, since the bank always withholds income tax before paying dividends. In addition, there is the possibility of cashback from income tax payments.
“No one has access to banking secrecy. It is not that we will find out who keeps what and how much in which banks. We will only find out (information) about income tax, i.e. about existing income and the tax on it,” he said
With the entry into force of amendments to the Tax Code in April 2024, the State Revenue Committee of Armenia gained access to citizens’ bank accounts. Three working days after receiving a request from the tax authority, the taxpayer is required to submit a bank account statement, as well as consent to receive confirmation of its authenticity from the commercial bank. Taxpayers who do not comply with this requirement of the law are subject to liability.
The information will include “data on the taxpayer’s bank account, including in foreign currency, the balance as of January 1 and December 31 of the tax year, as well as the total amount deposited into the bank account and the total amount withdrawn from the account during the tax year.”
The rationale for the law states that “information is collected within the framework of tax control and for the purpose of risk assessment.” -0-
