Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rejected claims that Armenia imposes excessive tax burdens on businesses, arguing that criticism reflects the end of widespread tax evasion practices.

Speaking at a press briefing, he accused some opposition figures of having benefited from past corruption. “They were used to not paying taxes… now that they are forced to operate within the tax system, it feels heavy for them,” he said, adding that such practices had allowed businesses to “push competitors out of the market.”

At the same time, Pashinyan signaled potential reforms to support small businesses, including raising the turnover threshold for the microenterprise tax regime, currently set at 24 million drams. He said the limit has become outdated due to inflation. “We are considering raising the threshold so that truly small businesses can operate under special conditions, while others cannot use small-business status to avoid taxes,” he said.

He framed taxation as essential to state development, linking it directly to public spending. “Where there are taxes, there is prosperity; where there are no taxes, there is no prosperity,” he said, urging citizens to request receipts and warning against efforts to “demonize” taxes.

Pashinyan also pointed to rising corporate tax revenues, which reached 265.8 billion drams as of April 2026. Despite a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 20% to 18%, revenues have increased 5.4 times since 2017.

He attributed this growth to both economic expansion and the shrinking shadow economy, with more business activity now formally recorded.