Monday, January 22 2018 16:37

ArmInfo. "The ARF Dashnaktsutyun party agrees with the representatives of the ruling Republican Party that the price increase in Armenia is not significant and does not aggravate the social and economic situation in the country." Against this background, the party categorically disagrees with the arguments of the opposition bloc "Elk" about the need to review the new The Tax Code, which will lead to lower prices in the country. Aghvan Vardanyan, Secretary of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun faction, told a briefing in the National Assembly of Armenia on Jan. 22 that if the Tax Code is revised to lower interest rates, the budget revenues will decrease, and the republic will not be able to repay debts, pay pensions and salaries. Meanwhile, the deputy of the opposition bloc "Elk" Gevorg Gorgisyan stated that the price increase for today is one of the most important problems in Armenia, with which it is necessary to fight. In this light, he stressed that the bloc "Elk" will continue the protest against the price increase, and another action will be held on February 5, noting that after the first rally in the republic, another wave of price hikes was recorded. Touching upon Vardanyan's statement that the state will not be able to pay off foreign debt, if it revises the Tax Code and reduces taxes, Gorgisyan noted that the external debt should be thought not of the population of Armenia, but of ARF Dashnaktsutyun and their coalition friends from RPA. "We have a constructive proposal on how to pay the bills without plundering our people," Gorgisyan said, while calling the hearings about the price increase, which will be held in the Parliament on January 23, by imitation. The head of the parliamentary faction of the ruling Republican Party Vahram Baghdasaryan stated that inflation in the country is controlled, and the RPA repeatedly stated that there will not be an artificial increase in prices in Armenia. Baghdasaryan also noted that if the tax legislation is revised and interest rates are lowered, the country will not be able to pay off debts, pay salaries and pensions. "We will do everything in our power to make this situation the most acceptable for the citizens of the country. If tomorrow during the hearings, we will identify those guilty of increasing prices, then this person or group of persons will be punished," the deputy stressed. Vardanyan and Baghdasaryan also stated that the minimum price growth rate among the countries of the region was recorded in Armenia. As a justification for their words, the deputies gave statistical data, according to which prices in Armenia increased by only 2.6%, while in neighboring countries, the price increase was fixed at 6.8% or more.