Our New Year's Dreams
Source: https://www.construction.am
#newyear #armenia #economy
On Friday, December 18, Barack Obama has solemnly signed the law on the extension of tax credits for 2011, thereby continuing the policy of tax stimulus provided by the Republicans. It was some gift to Americans for Christmas and especially for the middle class, which is considered the major driving engine of the US economy...
At the beginning of the global economic crisis, the Armenian Government adopted a resolution on stopping planned tax inspections for 2 years period (until 2011), for a small and medium-sized businesses, to create more favorable conditions for doing business and overcome the crisis. For foreign readers this may sound a little bit strange, because there was no any tax stimulus for pushing economy to grow. It was clear only for us - entrepreneurs working in Armenia know what that means, and what a happiness it is to work and live without absurd "planned" tax inspections that lead to repeated increase risk of corruption and create an awful and unpleasant business-doing atmosphere.
But let's be objective and say that our today's Government is taking some steps to reduce corruption risks in terms of communication with the tax authorities, as well as steps to reduce the share of shadow economy. However, in the construction industry, particularly in the market of small and medium-sized construction and design companies which mostly serve private customers , shadow remains the main form for the contractor-customer relationships. This problem has been repeatedly raised by us during the last 12 years and there isn't any solution so far. Maybe Santa Claus can help us to draw the Government's attention to our 2011 New Year dreams-wishes about some major industry problems.
Our Main desire is to provide opportunities for standing-up and development of the licensed small and medium sized construction companies which are engaged in the market of private house building and repair, by creating the field of equal competition for all market participants (read the article). Not to do so, will be viewed as an anti state activity that leads to huge budget losses, impossibility for licensed small and medium-sized construction companies' legal development, housing is being built and repaired with the break of construction rules. We need completely remove the VAT from the private housing market to open the doors for step-by-step moving toward transparent economy! Our last year's formal request to the Government on this issue was submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which gave us a screen bureaucratic response,- "in order to bring all market participants to the equal competition field, we consider that the best way is to tighten control and force shadow contractors to liability under the law for the illegal business activities.." Dear Finance Deputy Minister, a year later after this response, can You give us an answer; how many shadow contractors were brought to the responsibility by authorities? Or we don't like to realize that it is impossible to prosecute whole nation for what they don't know, no one and never taught them what they have to do or what are the real law requirements? For many years people were learning other laws - the laws of real life, they lived and worked in a society where authorities allowed them shadow acting all the time and even indirectly teaches this illegal thinking way. And now it's too late and amoral to bring somebody to the responsibility and it's time to pull head out of the sand and look at the existing reality.
Our second desire is to work and live in a legal "construction environment", relevant to the developed countries of the world. This implies a great work of the Government in the study of the experiences of these countries, finding and introducing the best and appropriate laws, acts or just recommendations. We have many law and regulation omissions in construction industry, which must be turned into internationally accepted laws and regulations to ensure legal protection of all parties involved in construction process.
And our most important desire. Yerevan is located on one of the most vulnerable earthquake zones of the world(read related article), but in reality we don't have any modern earthquake-resistant hospital building ... The most urgent measures must be taken to build a basic "skeleton" for Republic earthquake safety -hospitals, schools, kindergartens, office buildings, etc..
There are many unsolved problems not only in our industry but in economy as a whole. They can't be solved by filled up with papers officials, who do not have any time to go out from everyday issues. This conversion requires independent high-level industry professionals and macroeconomics as a whole, who can do it without any bureaucratic pressure, and can provide the legislation and regulations only for mutual State -Entrepreneurship benefits, and create the business environment that can provide fertile ground for decades for the future prosperity of our homeland. We believe and hope that today's Government is able to find this desired gold human potential for reforms and has the will to implement them.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and who knows, maybe all this will be the case in 2011 and then we can work and prosper legally and be proud of Armenia.
At the beginning of the global economic crisis, the Armenian Government adopted a resolution on stopping planned tax inspections for 2 years period (until 2011), for a small and medium-sized businesses, to create more favorable conditions for doing business and overcome the crisis. For foreign readers this may sound a little bit strange, because there was no any tax stimulus for pushing economy to grow. It was clear only for us - entrepreneurs working in Armenia know what that means, and what a happiness it is to work and live without absurd "planned" tax inspections that lead to repeated increase risk of corruption and create an awful and unpleasant business-doing atmosphere.
But let's be objective and say that our today's Government is taking some steps to reduce corruption risks in terms of communication with the tax authorities, as well as steps to reduce the share of shadow economy. However, in the construction industry, particularly in the market of small and medium-sized construction and design companies which mostly serve private customers , shadow remains the main form for the contractor-customer relationships. This problem has been repeatedly raised by us during the last 12 years and there isn't any solution so far. Maybe Santa Claus can help us to draw the Government's attention to our 2011 New Year dreams-wishes about some major industry problems.
Our Main desire is to provide opportunities for standing-up and development of the licensed small and medium sized construction companies which are engaged in the market of private house building and repair, by creating the field of equal competition for all market participants (read the article). Not to do so, will be viewed as an anti state activity that leads to huge budget losses, impossibility for licensed small and medium-sized construction companies' legal development, housing is being built and repaired with the break of construction rules. We need completely remove the VAT from the private housing market to open the doors for step-by-step moving toward transparent economy! Our last year's formal request to the Government on this issue was submitted to the Ministry of Finance, which gave us a screen bureaucratic response,- "in order to bring all market participants to the equal competition field, we consider that the best way is to tighten control and force shadow contractors to liability under the law for the illegal business activities.." Dear Finance Deputy Minister, a year later after this response, can You give us an answer; how many shadow contractors were brought to the responsibility by authorities? Or we don't like to realize that it is impossible to prosecute whole nation for what they don't know, no one and never taught them what they have to do or what are the real law requirements? For many years people were learning other laws - the laws of real life, they lived and worked in a society where authorities allowed them shadow acting all the time and even indirectly teaches this illegal thinking way. And now it's too late and amoral to bring somebody to the responsibility and it's time to pull head out of the sand and look at the existing reality.
Our second desire is to work and live in a legal "construction environment", relevant to the developed countries of the world. This implies a great work of the Government in the study of the experiences of these countries, finding and introducing the best and appropriate laws, acts or just recommendations. We have many law and regulation omissions in construction industry, which must be turned into internationally accepted laws and regulations to ensure legal protection of all parties involved in construction process.
And our most important desire. Yerevan is located on one of the most vulnerable earthquake zones of the world(read related article), but in reality we don't have any modern earthquake-resistant hospital building ... The most urgent measures must be taken to build a basic "skeleton" for Republic earthquake safety -hospitals, schools, kindergartens, office buildings, etc..
There are many unsolved problems not only in our industry but in economy as a whole. They can't be solved by filled up with papers officials, who do not have any time to go out from everyday issues. This conversion requires independent high-level industry professionals and macroeconomics as a whole, who can do it without any bureaucratic pressure, and can provide the legislation and regulations only for mutual State -Entrepreneurship benefits, and create the business environment that can provide fertile ground for decades for the future prosperity of our homeland. We believe and hope that today's Government is able to find this desired gold human potential for reforms and has the will to implement them.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and who knows, maybe all this will be the case in 2011 and then we can work and prosper legally and be proud of Armenia.
