Advisor to the Artsakh President: Cancelling tax benefits for "Base  Metals" mining company will provide additional revenues to the state  treasury

ArmInfo. In 2019, revenues to the state budget of Artsakh will increase by an additional 5 billion drams, Adviser to the President of Artsakh, the former Prime Minister  of the Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, announced this on his Facebook page.

"Days earlier, the Artsakh National Assembly passed the bill of the  MP from the 'Movement-88' faction Eduard Aghabekyan on amending the  law on subsoil use, according to which tax benefits for the mining  company Base Metals were abolished, which will increase revenues to  Artsakh state budget by an additional 5 billion drams. Thus, the  government will have more opportunities to solve many socio- economic  problems in Artsakh, " Arayik Harutyunyan wrote.

Earlier, ArmInfo reported that following the results of 2019, the  surplus of the budget of Artsakh Republic is expected to be 1 billion  136.5 million drams. As stated by Artsakh's Minister of Finance Artur  Harutyunyan during a working discussion with the President of the  Republic Bako Sahakyan, this figure is unprecedented for the country.  Thus, the revenues of the Artsakh State Treasury in 2019 will  increase by about 16 billion drams - from the figure of 96 billion  428 million drams to the figure of 112 billion 547 million drams,  which were laid out in the approved budget for 2018. Of these, tax  revenues and state fees will make 54 billion 200 million drams.  Expenditures are expected to be about 111 billion 410.5 mln drams  instead of the current 101 billion 538 million drams. The growth of  the budget expenditures, according to the head of the Ministry of  Finance, is mainly due to the increase in capital expenditures by 1.6  billion drams, and the health and social welfare sectors will receive  more by 770 million and 480 mlm drams, respectively. In turn, capital  expenditures will be spent on the implementation of programs for the  construction of a number of social facilities, and health workers  will have a 15% salary increase. The social security sector will  spend additional budget allocations for the introduction of a funded  pension system. To note, in the framework of the planned in 2019-2021  macroeconomic indicators of the Republic of Artsakh, GDP in 2019 will  be 333.2 billion drams, in 2020 - 367 billion drams, and in 2021 -  404.2 billion drams.  Own budget expenditures in 2019-2021 are  projected at 56, 68 and 70 billion drams, respectively.  Expenditures  of the budget in 2019 will make 110.7 billion drams, in 2021 - 111  billion drams, in 2021 - 112.6 billion drams.

Earlier it was reported that the financial authorities of Artsakh  plan to complete the year 2018 with an absolute GDP index of over 300  billion drams, instead of the previously planned 291 billion. The  deficit of the state budget of Artsakh in 2018 is projected at 5  billion 110 million drams. In January-October of the current year,  tax revenues to the state budget of the Republic of Artsakh amounted  to 43 billion 998 million 100 thousand drams, exceeding the planned  43 billion 100 million drams by 2.1% or 898 million 100 thousand  drams. Tax revenues and duties for the previous year exceeded 45.2%  or 13 billion 691 million 600 thousand drams. According to the  Ministry of Finance of Artsakh, more than 10 billion 441 million 400  thousand drams from this amount is connected with an increase in tax  revenues paid by Base Metals CJSC, while 3 billion 250 million 200  thousand drams are secured due to the economic growth registered in  the republic, and also thanks to the consistent administration  carried out by the tax authority. Vallex Group was established in  1998 and unites 20 subsidiary and affiliated companies. Among them,  JSC "Teghout" created in 2006 to coordinate the Teghout project, Base  Metals, CJSC, operating the copper-gold deposit in the village of  Drmbon of the NKR Martakert region, Armenian Copper Program CJSC  (ACP), operating the Alaverdi copper foundry.