HY RU EN
Asset 3

Loading

End of content No more pages to load

Your search did not match any articles

Marine Madatyan

Hovik Baghdasaryan: This Syrian-Armenian Businessman Pays Taxes Rather than Bribes

Friends of Syrian-Armenian Hovik Baghdasaryan told him that even if he made a successful go of it in Armenia "he should not report his profits to the tax authorities and cry poverty", for that's the way things are done.

Hovik laughed me if the advice was true and whether he should heed it or not.

When I visited Hovik after 8pm, the store was still opened for business. Other stores in the area had already closed for the day.

He opened his shoe store five months ago.

Hovik says that "people in Armenia don't like to work and prefer to sit and make money."

"But if that same Armenian goes to France, he or she works harder and does any type of job," notes Hovik.

In August of 2012, Hovik and his family fled Syria when the Islamists started their assault on Aleppo. Their house was subject to shelling as well.

They came to Armenia with the intention of only staying a month or so. Since the situation in Syria hasn't improved, they have stayed on.

Hovik's father started a shoe business in Aleppo. The family owned a production plant and stores. Now, the plant is closed and only one of the stores remains open.

Hovik says their factory was the only one in Aleppo making orthopedic shoes for adults and kids.

The one store still operating in Aleppo is only open 3-4 hours a day. "I only have Armenians working in the store. I dismissed all the Arabs," says Hovik.

He has transferred much of his Aleppo inventory to the new store in Yerevan under the brand name "Hovik".

The young businessman owns a house in France and says that he could have moved there but that he prefers to live in Armenia.

"Armenia is more like Syria. It's more relaxed. I wouldn't want my children growing up in France anyway," he says.

Hovik has purchased an apartment in downtown Yerevan where he and his wife live with their two daughters and his parents.

His Yerevan store is called Vana, in remembrance of Van, the hometown of one of his grandmothers.

One of his daughters attends kindergarten and the other goes to the Kilikia School specially set-up for Syrian-Armenian school age pupils.

Hovik's mother Antoinette helps out in the store as well.

He says that expenses in Armenia are quite high when compared to Aleppo.

"There a family of four could get by on $150 per month. In Yerevan, that money only covers a week."

Hovik says that clerks in other Yerevan stores deal brusquely with customers; a no-no in the retail business.

"Even if a customer returns a pair of shoes purchased from us, we'll return their money," he says.

He claims that it's quite easy operating a business in Armenia; you just have to provide sales receipts for everything you sell.

Hovik confesses that it's not in his nature to bribe another Armenian and he's not about to start doing so in Armenia.

First photo: Hovik and his wife, Nairi

Comments (13)

Laranna
SHAT XELACI E MTACUM HOVIK@,ASTVATS DZER @NTANIQIN MISHT PAHAPAN LINI.
GB
All Armenians outside of Armenia work hard...the reason Armenians inside Armenia are lazy that because of 70 years of Soviet rule, where they bribe people first, before ask them to work!!I hope that lazy mentality will go away, and Armenian kids will have right Armenian attitude!!
Ani
Kaseq Vortex e gtnvum xanuty?
Levon M.
First the Communists removed incentive from the Armenian psyche. Now the oligarchs have done the same. Rid us of the oligarchs, establish a level playing field and we'll see how our Hayastantzi brethern will recover.
zohrab
i think diasphorans are the ones who will bring armenia into line in mant many ways
harutyun vrt.
Hovik im ashagerdn er,yeghaz e ashxadaser,nvirvaz yev jbdun,Mayre Digin Antuanete Dasnyag dariner parexijoren varaz e Mangabardesi Dnorenuhiyi bashdone Halebi Mxitaryan varjaranin metch harkvaz yev knahadvaz poloren.Yerp orin mege voroshetz goshigov sbaghil,shudov hasav medz hatchoghutyan orn i pun ashxadelov. Arantz nvirumi hatchoghutyun tchi ga votch Halebi metch votch yevs aravel Yerevani.
Raffi
We need more news report like this.
andy
The lady in the picture is US citizen if I am not mistaken, not only they could have gone to France, to USA as well, lets hope they woun't be disapointed, like I was.
Hagopeeg
Andy, why do you say you are disappointed? Any story to share?
Anna
cheiq asi vortegh e ayd xanut@ gtnvum?
Մարինե Մադաթյան
Հարգելի Ani և Anna, Խանութը գտնվում է Աբովյան 31 հասցեում:
andy
Hagopeeg, I had a store there too, I refused to pay bribes, I worked by the book, I even had signs all over the store that if any customer left the store without a reciept there purchase will be free of charge, the tax collectors tried every trick they knew to trap me but they could't. Finaly they told me to take the signs out and give them a cut, otherwise they will keep harassing me on weekly baisess, afther all they explained to me they got this job to make money on the side, even prime minister Sarkisian explained on national TV that every young man wants to grow up and work as tax collector, that is where you make money in Armenia.
Hagopeeg
Andy, you are brave to stand your ground like that, and sorry to hear that you went through that. As a diaspora Armenian I always think about if I could move there, and stories like this discourage me, because I have been hearing them for the past 20 years. I hope things improve soon to allow diaspora Armenian to repatriate in large numbers.

Write a comment

If you found a typo you can notify us by selecting the text area and pressing CTRL+Enter