And What About Tax Inspectors Who Avoid Paying Tax?
The sleek black Lexus pictured below belongs to Rafayel Mkrtchyan, an inspector at the State Revenue Committee.
I first spotted the expensive SUV parked outside the Criminal Appeals Court on December 30, 2011.
The “transit” license plate shows that the car never passed through RA customs.
The next time Examiner Mkrtchyan drove his Lexus to the Criminal Appeals Court was on January 10.
At the time, the court was hearing the appeal of Narek Hartounian, the diaspora Armenian arrested on suspicion of tax evasion.
That day, Examiner Mkrtchyan had in the Lexus as a passenger Bagrat Petrosyan, the state prosecutor handling the Hartounian case.
At first I figured that Mkrtchyan hadn’t gotten around to paying the import duties on the Lexus, what with the holidays and all.
I again spotted the car yesterday parked nearby the General Prosecutor’s Office and the building housing the State Revenue Committee.
The Lexus still bore a “transit” license plate.
That Mkrtchyan is driving around a car that hasn’t passed customs is a clear violation of the law.
And this from a state official whose job it is to “investigate” tax violations.
It’s a joke but I’m not laughing.
Naturally, I would first like to ask Gagik Khachatryan, who heads the State Revenue Committee, what the blazes is going on under his nose?
I mean, it’s up to Khachatryan to get his people in line and tell them that before they arrest people for allegedly not paying their taxes, they should be the first ones to pay what they owe.
Kind of makes sense.
P.S. Hetq’s source at the State Revenue Committee says that Rafayel Mkrtchyan loves his fancy cars and changes them a few times a year. The cars are said to come from the USA. I wonder what happens to the pricey cars after Mkrtchyan grows tired of them.
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