YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The discussion of the 2018 state budget draft kicked off in the Armenian Parliament, reports Armenpress.

Finance minister Vardan Aramyan presented the three pillars that served a base for preparing the budget draft. “The first pillar is the fiscal policy directed for economic growth. We have said for several times that the budget is not only a table of flows, but also a key macro-management tool, and the approach is smart which aims at directing the fiscal policy towards the economic growth”, the minister said.

The minister said after 2014 the external economic shocks greatly affected Armenia’s economy, adding that they have set a task before them to carry out economy stabilization policy after these shocks. “This, seems, succeeds, but it is not enough for us to be able to solve the social issues. We need high economic growth, at least 5%. And for this purpose we should carry out a fiscal policy directed for economic growth”, Vardan Aramyan said.

The second pillar is the fiscal policy based on rules the basis of which are the economic growth, the country’s security and social purposefulness. “We think that the best vision of solving the social issues is to create an inclusive economic growth. This not only concerns assisting a socially insecure person, but also creating conditions for people, who are able to generate incomes, to be able to generate those incomes”, the minister highlighted.

The minister attached importance to the country’s security for the economy. He stated that it is possible to ensure economic growth through investments, but investments are made in a country where there is a macroeconomic environment and security stability. In this sense minister Aramyan highlighted the importance of ensuring the country’s defense at the highest level.

The third pillar is the balanced revenue policy. “The main burden of budget revenues is put on taxes. We will mainly have a growth at the expense of tax collections. But we should take into account that the taxes are collected from the economy, and if the predictions and approaches are distorted, there is a great risk that we can make misleading in the economy. If the economic entity has no tax liabilities, and you try to get money from him at any cost, this can lead to tax overpayments which is against to the main principles of our policy. Therefore, we think that the tax policy and administration should be adequate”, the minister added.