ANCA’s Aram Hamparian: ‘Minister Aramyan’s Remarks Today Speak to the Heart of This Matter’
YEREVAN (A.W.)—Armenia’s Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan on Jully 27 addressed the recently proposed plan to revise the Double Tax Treaty between the United States and Armenia, highlighting the advantages of the deal as a major stimulus for businesses.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Aramyan noted that the issue has always been on the Armenian Government’s agenda.
On July 27, Armenia’s Minister of Finance Vardan Aramyan addressed the recently proposed plan to revise the Double Tax Treaty between the United States and Armenia, highlighting the advantages of the deal as a major stimulus for businesses.
“Armenia has quite recently signed an agreement with Israel [to abolish] double taxation. That signals a very important moment for us. We had so far signed agreements ruling out double taxation with 46 countries. So Israel is now the 47th,” Aramyan said, according to Yerevan-based Tert.am.
Aramyan said he expects the agreement to inspire businesses with confidence by clarifying certain controversial points, but did not point to specific time frames for signing the deal with the U.S.
“I think we have more work to do with our U.S. partners, as the issue has been under consideration for 20 years, if my memory doesn’t fail me,” Aramyan added.
The Minister also noted that an effective interstate legislation regulating the procedures now is an earlier agreement signed between the U.S. and former Soviet republics. “We don’t think that it is actual any longer, given that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently elaborated general frameworks as part of the conventions ruling out double taxation. We are confident that the [document] in effect is not in line with its provisions, as Armenia is not a legal successor of the USSR. Our counter-argument is…that the absence of any agreement ruling out double taxation may prevent entrepreneurs from making decisions independently to attract mutual investments—i.e., to Armenia, and from Armenia to the U.S. Any entrepreneur needs to have the confidence that the taxation policies are quite understandable and stable,” he added.
“Minister Aramyan’s remarks today speak to the heart of this matter,” said Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian in his comments to the Armenian Weekly. “A new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty will make Armenia more attractive to American investors, removing unnecessary barriers to the growth of bilateral economic relations,” added Hamparian.
He went on to say that the ANCA welcomes Aramyan’s leadership and, more broadly, the growing momentum among stakeholders in Washington and Yerevan for a modern Double Tax Treaty and “other forward-leaning initiatives to unleash the potential of U.S.-Armenia commerce.”
David Kautter, the incoming U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy, expressed willingness, during his Senate confirmation process, to engage with Congressional stakeholders and professional Treasury Department staff regarding a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty, an economic accord backed by the ANCA, aimed at removing barriers to the growth of bilateral trade and investment.
Kautter’s comments were reinforced on July 26 by Acting Assistant Secretary of State John Heffern, who, in response to questions posed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) during a Congressional hearing, testified that a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty is “under active consideration” by the Department of State.