YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. "Armenia's budget is in a humiliated state compared with the budgets of other newly independent states," Chairman of the RA National Assembly Standing Committee of Financial, Credit, Budgetary and Economic Issues Gagik Minasian said during the November 23 meeting with reporters. According to him, the 2007 state budget has several essential advantages: particularly, in terms of the taxes-GDP ratio - taxes will make up 15.7% of GDP. G. Minasian noted that tax revenues will grow by 27% in case of a 9% GDP growth. In his words, it is impossible to fight against the shadow economy in some other way. Chairman of the Democratic Party of Armenia, NA deputy Aram Sargsian said that although a growth in the state budget's revenues has been registered, the shadow economy makes up 70-75% in the country. He considered it incomprehensible that no steps are taken to stop illegal actions at the customs points during the import of fuel. According to him, 10 million dollars from the import of fuel annually are not transferred to the state budget. Speaking about the proposal to raise the salaries of high-ranking officials by 40%, Aram Sargsian considered it immoral to raise the pensions only by 2.5 thousand drams (about 6.6 USD). He noted that if the government does not set itself the goal to raise pensions in line with the minimal basket (in his words, it makes 70 thousand drams), its policy will fail. G. Minasian found it difficult to state the official amount of the minimal basket, "they say it makes 15 thousand drams." He only noted that salaries must be increased in order to raise pensions.

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