YEREVAN, June 18. /ARКА/. At its session on Thursday, the National Assembly of Armenia adopted amendments to the Tax Code and the RA Law “On State Duty” in the first reading.
As stated by RA Deputy Finance Minister Arman Poghosyan, the proposed changes are aimed at revising the tax environment for commercial banks operating in Armenia.
According to him, a significant portion of financial transactions and services by banks are exempt from VAT. This practice is also used internationally, as determining the share of VAT in the cost of individual banking transactions is complex in practice, and in some cases, impossible.
“For this reason, international practice has adopted the practice of introducing other taxes or increasing existing standard tax rates in the banking sector, which is exempt from VAT,” Poghosyan said.
He noted that a number of countries are imposing additional taxes, including the so-called financial activity tax or financial transaction tax. Other countries are increasing standard corporate income tax rates or imposing an excess profit tax.
According to amendments to the Tax Code, the tax rate on dividends paid by banks to individuals and organizations is proposed to be increased to 15% from the current standard rate of 5%, effective January 1, 2027, the deputy minister reported.
