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The Armenian community of Jerusalem is facing grave problems regarding the municipal tax issue, a Diaspora official warned Tuesday.
Zareh Sinanyan, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs at the Armenian government, told a press conference that paying the large sum of supposed unpaid taxes as requested by the Jerusalem municipality could be a critical development for the presence of the Armenian community.
“As you know, there had been problems regarding the obscure transfer of the patriarchate’s lands and related court proceedings. And today we see that the Jerusalem municipality has presented tax obligations to the patriarchate going back as early as the 1980s, claiming that some taxes have not been paid. They demand a large amount, and concrete consequences will follow if it is not paid. This means that the debt must probably be paid through property and land, which could be [fatal] critical in terms of the Armenian presence of Jerusalem,” Sinanyan said.
Sinanyan said that the Armenian quarter had been acquired through generous investments and strong efforts by Armenian philanthropists over the course of a few hundred years.
“It is a huge advantage. The Armenians were able to acquire an entire quarter but now they are facing the risk of suffering losses. These are local issues of course, and are not connected to Armenia, but in such cases many people are frequently asking our government to offer solutions.”