Armenia's 2024 income declaration process a 'fiasco', economist claims

Economist Hrayr Kamenadtyan says the government’s decision to suspend mandatory income declarations for individuals proves that “the 2024 process has completely failed”.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Kamenadtyan argued that around 630,000 people effectively boycotted what he called “a rushed, illogical and unjustified measure” aimed at raising people’s tax burden and imposing fines.

“This is not a technical failure – it’s a total governance fiasco by the Civil Contract party,” he said. “Tens of millions of drams were wasted and citizens were once again left in uncertainty.”

According to Kamenadtyan, the HayaKve movement warned earlier this year that the initiative was poorly planned and irresponsible. He credited persistent public pressure for forcing the government to retreat, but warned that new attempts to tighten financial oversight could follow.

“We will continue to closely monitor the process. There must be accountability. If a government program fails and public funds are wasted, there must be resignations, not excuses,” the economist added.