Honorable President of the National Assembly,
Dear Vice Presidents of the National Assembly,
Dear Chairmen of the Committees,
Dear Cabinet members,
Dear members of the National Assembly,
Dear attendees,
Dear people,

Today, we are starting the parliamentary discussions of bill on state budget 2025 of the Republic of Armenia, and I want to start these discussions from the perspective of a perception of the state budget, which we have often discussed in parts, but we have never had the opportunity to discuss it thoroughly.

And to start that discussion, I will cite some conceptual slogan-formulas that I proposed before and after the People's nonviolent, velvet revolution of 2018. The first of those formulas is as follows. "Armenia is my hearth, the people are my family", the second is as follows. "Get rich and make rich", the third formula is as follows. "The future of Armenia depends on one person, and that one person is you", the fourth formula is as follows. "The state is the motherland. If you love your motherland, strengthen your state", the fifth formula is as follows: "Here is the state, here is the bread, here is the motherland, here is your future."

I want to put all these formulas in the conceptual framework of "Real Armenia" and start the budget discussions from that point of view, with the understanding that what will be said refers not only to the state budget 2025, but also to the concept of "State Budget of the Republic of Armenia" in general.

So what is the state budget of the Republic of Armenia?

The state budget of the Republic of Armenia is the family budget of all of us, every citizen of the Republic of Armenia. There are different budgets in the country. community budgets that are formed by communities, budgets of private organizations that are formed and discussed by serious organizations in detail every year. There are also family budgets.

I don't think there are many families in Armenia who calculate and plan in advance their annual income and necessary expenses, as well as the part that is not enough for the necessary expenses, which is called deficit.

But if our families don't have budget calculation packages, it doesn't mean that there are no family budgets. The family budget is not a document, but how much income each family receives during the year as a result of work and other actions, activities, how much it spends and for what necessary expenses it does not have enough funds and it has to think about how to fill that insufficient part, for example, by borrowing, pledging or selling an asset, or, say, working more.

According to the conceptual logic of "Armenia is my home, the people are my family", here, the budget of the Republic of Armenia is the budget of our collective family, because it is formed as a result of the work and activities of all of us, citizens and simply residents living and working in the Republic of Armenia.

And although the government writes, prepares and brings the extensive draft of the budget to the National Assembly, the revenues of the state budget depend on how efficiently and transparently each of us, each citizen and resident of the Republic of Armenia works.

This is not an allegory at all, but a reality, because the revenues of the state budget are formed, for example, from our income tax, which is formed only because, as of October 1, more than 768 thousand citizens and residents of the Republic of Armenia are working and receiving salaries and paying income tax: income tax, as you know, is a type of tax arising mainly as a result of receiving salary. That is, there are other areas here: rent, dividends, etc., but the lion's share of our income tax, most of it, 80 percent or more, if not 90 percent or more, is formed from salaries, that is, the payroll tax. And that income tax is formed only because a person works, receives a salary, and the income tax is generated from it. That is, if he did not work, he would not receive a salary, and income tax would not be formed.

Budget revenues are formed from value-added tax and excise tax, which are formed only because people who are employed, receive wages and other incomes, purchase services and goods, as a result of which value-added tax and excise tax are generated. Value added tax and excise tax are also generated as a result of receipt of goods and services by recipients of pensions, social and family benefits, but these social groups receive pensions and social contributions today thanks to the taxes paid by more than 768 thousand workers working today. In other words, taxes generated from the consumption by non-working people and recipients of social or family benefits are generated by working people. This is also very important. The largest share of the revenue of our country's budget is the line of value added tax. Why is the value-added tax formed at all? Because citizens, people who work and earn income, they buy goods and buy, for example, water. As soon as a person acquires water, 20 percent of the acquisition of this water is the value added tax. In other words, if a person does not work, does not have money, does not buy water, value added tax will not be generated here. Why here? I will look at it now, because even in the case of import, value added tax and excise tax are paid, but it is all the same, in the end it is paid by the people who consume the imported goods and services. In other words, let's understand it correctly, the value added tax, which is the largest share of tax revenues in the state budget of our country, is created because a person works, receives a salary and spends that salary to purchase goods and services. I want to make one more important point. there are people who do not work at all, but they receive social benefits, for example. The person received their social payments, family or social allowance, went to buy water in the same way, at the time of his purchase, value added tax is formed. Both that money of a person who does not work, but receives social benefits, and the value added tax on the money spent as a result, are generated by people who work, receive salaries, generate income or profit. Now I'll get to it.

The next component of budget revenue formation is profit tax or turnover tax, which are formed only because many citizens and residents of the Republic of Armenia are engaged in entrepreneurial activities, i.e. produce or import goods, provide services, as a result of which they receive profits, ensure money circulation, that is, depending on which field of taxation one works in, and, as a result of this activity, they receive profits, provide money circulation, thus they also pay profit tax or turnover tax.

Budget revenues are also formed from the customs duty, which is formed only because the same citizens, people, residents engaged in entrepreneurial activity import goods, raw materials, components for which they pay a customs duty.

I will not continue listing, because more than 80 percent of the revenues of our state budget are formed from the listed types of taxes, and the other 20 percent are formed in one way or another as a result of the work of specific people. That is, listing is the same logic. In other words, the state budget of the Republic of Armenia is the result of work, only and only work, exclusively work. In other words, there is no other tool for forming the state budget than citizens or residents working in the Republic of Armenia.

As you see, the formation of state budget revenues depends on everyone, every citizen of the Republic of Armenia and every person living in our country, it's conditioned by whether each citizen works, creates value, contributes to value creation or not, works in the legal field, or not? If not, then there is no state budget revenue, if yes, the size of the state budget, the amount of revenue largely depends on how efficiently each of us, each citizen and resident of the Republic of Armenia works, and this applies to both the public sector and the private sector workers.

Public sector workers are concerned in the sense that it also depends on their work how much output the private sector will be able to generate today, how much output it will be able to generate tomorrow. That is, what we call the investment climate, business freedoms and opportunities, in a broader context, all public services in general depend on the public sector. Here I mean those services, such as education, which as a service are mainly provided by the state and public sector workers. In other words, education is related to the budget, because the output a person will generate in the future depends on the education he receives, whether he will have a job or not. I am talking about the laws that are passed by the state and the public sector workers, including us, we are all public sector workers. Application of the procedures therein, which is also mainly carried out by public sector employees. In other words, the laws that we adopt, to what extent do these laws contribute to encouraging a person to work, and secondly, to generate more output as a result of that work? The level of legitimacy and fairness that is also ensured by the state and public sector workers. We often underestimate this, but the level of legality and justice in the country largely predetermines the desire of people to work, create results and realize opportunities. Foreign policy, which is generally a government monopoly, is carried out by public sector workers. For a long time we have not realized that foreign policy is also related to the economy and economic activity and the volume of output.

Thus, the content and quality of public sector work largely determines how much revenue will be generated in the country. Of course, it also largely depends on the people working in the private sector, because it also depends on them how effectively they will use the existing opportunities, that is, how much they will use the opportunities created or improved by the government in the formula of "Get rich and make richer".

From the point of view of the state budget, the formula "The future of Armenia depends on one person and that one person is you" only contains the same question, and is every citizen of Armenia, each of us, working sufficiently and efficiently, because it depends on the work of each of us? not only our personal, but also our universal well-being, that is, the future of the country.

The well-being of every citizen is somewhat interconnected with the overall well-being of the Republic of Armenia, because it is possible to earn well, but in the environment of universal misery and poverty, not to have the joy and opportunity to enjoy that earnings, and the contrary, to have a feeling of isolation and anxiety that what you have acquired through work may be lost to something illegal, because if there is widespread misery and poverty, partial welfare is a primary target and a thorn in the side. In other words, if a society where misery and poverty prevails, yes, there can be people who, due to some circumstances, I mean the legal, we are not even discussing the illegal ones, who, thanks to their talent, skills, flexibility, can legally earn and prosper. But their chance to enjoy that well-being is very little, because if there is universal poverty, well-being becomes a target, a thorn in the side, hatred is formed for any prosperous environment in the conditions, I say again, when misery and poverty are universal.

Therefore, the above understanding of the state budget is also about public solidarity, when I say that it is our big family budget, when we all contribute to one common state-family budget, for the sake of all citizens, for universal well-being, with the understanding that not only daily comfort, but also freedom, justice, legality, health, external and internal security, and full cultural life are integral components of well-being.

But the state budget is part of the family budget of every citizen not only for this reason, but also for another reason. I want to state this specifically. In other words, I said that the state budget is the big family budget of every citizen, but also the state budget of the Republic of Armenia is part of the narrow family budget of every citizen of Armenia. This is because there is not a single person in the country, there is not a family, for whose needs money is not spent from the state budget of the Republic of Armenia. There is no such family, individual person, for whom no expenditure is made from the relevant state budget. For example, 500,000 or more pensioners receive pensions from the state budget, all teachers, military personnel receive salaries from the state budget, all schools are built and maintained from the state budget, all roads are built and maintained from the state budget, tens of thousands of families receive additional payments in case of purchasing an apartment. I mean the income tax refund and various other programs through which we support young families, hundreds of thousands of citizens receive health services within the framework of the state order, which are paid from the state budget, tens of thousands of citizens receive loans (I mean subsidized loans), the interest of which is partially or fully paid from the state budget, tens of thousands of poor families receive benefits from the state budget. Moreover, there are families that do not work at all, do nothing and receive benefits from the state budget.

This list can be continued for a long time. But in short, there is not a single person in the country, not a single family, for whose needs money is not spent from the state budget, and therefore, our state budget is an inseparable part of the family budget of every citizen, literally, not figuratively.

It can be said that the state budget of the Republic of Armenia is a tool for the well-being of every citizen, again with the understanding that the components of well-being are not only everyday comfort, but also freedom, justice, legality, health, external and internal security, and a rich cultural life. I emphasize this especially because now, in the recent period, we talk a lot about well-being, but it is very important to emphasize and also not allow people to try to interpret well-being as, so to speak, promoting the eating process. This is a very important thing because, moreover, due to known circumstances, we have extreme manifestations, that is, eating is obviously part of well-being, and there is a lot of talk on international platforms that access to food is one of the most fundamental human rights. And there is no need, so to speak, to divide into spiritual and material components, because human well-being is a comprehensive concept that includes from access to cultural life to access to food.

In other words, it is not possible to have universal welfare without the state budget. The larger the state budget is, the greater the general well-being, and the size of the state budget depends on working people, the citizens and residents of the country who work efficiently and transparently.

The state budget is thus based on taxes paid by citizens, and pay attention, on the state's function of collecting those taxes.

Tax collection is a state monopoly. Moreover, I also mean the local self-government bodies, which are also part of the state. Moreover, despite my remarks made several times, even after my public remarks, we can still here often for example, from various programs: the state gives this much, the community gives this much. This is a mistake, big mistake, an unacceptable wording. It cannot be said that the state had this much participation, the community that much participation, because the community is a component of the state. I hope, at least after today, I will never hear the wording ''the state had this much contribution, the community had that much contribution to...'' The community is one of the most important institutions of the state, like the Government, the National Assembly, judicial bodies, etc. And therefore, collecting taxes is a state monopoly, an exclusively state function. Only the state can collect taxes and have a state budget, which, as I have clearly shown, is an instrument of universal well-being and, therefore, the state is an instrument for ensuring the universal well-being of its citizens.

Honorable President of the National Assembly,
Dear attendees,

The state is only a tool to ensure the general well-being of its own citizens, or in the language of the people, a tool for earning a living. This is how the state should perceive itself and this is how the citizens should perceive their state, because if the state and popular perception of the state is not this, the prospect of the existence of that state is in doubt.

It is and was the lack of such a systemic perception that became the reason for more than one million citizens of the Republic of Armenia to leave, emigrate from the Republic of Armenia since the beginning of the 90s in order to meet their vital need for welfare. Many of those who remain here, this is an extremely important nuance, have tied their hope for well-being to the prospect of leaving and, unable or, purely emotionally, not wanting to leave, sometimes even accepted that they are staying, but there will be no well-being for them here. In other words, staying here has in many cases, for many years, been equated with coming to terms with the thought of living a less prosperous life.

This socio-psychological state established in the Third Republic has created serious problems for our country, because it has created a gap and a chasm between the concepts of well-being and motherland, state and well-being, motherland and state. In other words, the concept of well-being was not connected with the concept of homeland, and people intuitively understood that the state is a tool for creating well-being, but when talking about the state as a tool for well-being, people meant other states and not their native state.

Since 1991, the average statistical model of our republic has been the following. citizens made their money outside the homeland, and saying the state they understood those states in the establishment of which they had no contribution at all, but where they could make money. This is how the concepts of well-being (bread), motherland and state have been confused and separated in our social psychology.

Filling this gap is of key importance for the future of our country, because in order to ensure the preservation, development, and sustainability of our identity and our state at a conceptual, ideological level, it is a strategic necessity to root the conceptual understanding of the state as an instrument for the well-being of the motherland, i.e., the creation of conditions for living, which, fortunately, happens slowly and subconsciously. Moreover, in parallel, from some point, this internal public process started. I don't mean it started after 2018. This process has always been there in various manifestations, but mostly intuitively, and it was there in the early 90s. But these subconscious manifestations are not enough. We need such a clear state, public and political consciousness, and the formula "Motherland is the state. If you love your motherland, strengthen your state" serves the goal of enrooting that consciousness.

How is it possible to strengthen the state? First of all by working more and more efficiently. I am not saying working more, because the concept of "working hard" sometimes becomes an occasion for us to confuse movement, in most cases meaningless, aimless movement, with action, that is, thoughtful, planned and effective activity. I mean, there is such a thing in our reality that we suffer from morning to night and get no results. This is because we often confuse movement and action. Yes, one can burn thousands of calories and spend thousands of hours and produce zero results. And it also shapes our average statistical attitude towards work in general. So, by and large, yes, to work efficiently is to work hard, to work more efficiently is to work more, with the logic that between the concepts of "working hard" and "working efficiently" is the answer to the question of whether, in the end, work is suffering or creating. Is work suffering or pleasure?

Ineffective work based on not knowing and not learning is suffering that generally does not bring results. While effective, productive, knowledge-based work is a pleasure, at least the result it brings is a pleasure, which is expressed in the form of higher incomes. That is, that work itself may not be enjoyment and pleasure, but if the work is knowledge-based, efficient and productive, at least the amount of income it brings, which is obviously greater, is already pleasure itself and creates an opportunity for enjoyment.

Therefore, the state can be strengthened only by working more and more efficiently, creating more and more output. I want, dear colleagues, to draw our attention again to what work is in the case of the public sector, creating opportunities for more and more people to get rich, and in the case of the private sector, getting more and more rich and thus paying more taxes, i.e. enriching the state.

And in order for this to happen, the Armenian citizen should consider his state as the best tool for his well-being, i.e. the best tool for earning a living, and his homeland as the best place to engage in creative work, and the formula "Here is the state, here is the bread, here is the motherland, here is the future" serves this goal.

Honorable President of the National Assembly, Vice Presidents of the National Assembly, Honorable Members of the Government, Honorable Members of the National Assembly, honorable attendees, dear people,

The state budget of the Republic of Armenia is the Real Armenia, that is, the Armenia that exists de jure and de facto at the same time, and the de jure and de facto parts of that existence are inseparable. And the state budget is the reality that we have created or will create as a result of our work, work and only work.

And today, I will not mention any numbers regarding the 2025 draft budget. my colleagues in the Government will do that, with all the details.

But I must emphasize whether the budget revenues will be high or low, whether the expenditures will be effective or not, whether pensions and salaries will be high or not, it is the result of the joint work of all of us: the Government, the National Assembly, the judicial system, local self-government bodies, and the people. It is the outcome we generate together.

One thing is obvious, we can and must do more, according to the logic of the formulas mentioned in my speech, which is summarized, as I already said, in the conceptual framework of "Real Armenia".

But our problem is that the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, including the tax and other codes, was not originally formed on the basis of Real Armenia. And I'm not sure our laws, procedures, policies offer the best opportunity to do better.
What do I mean? I mean something that might also sound strange in our reality. One of the tasks, one of the key tasks of the Government and the National Assembly, public and local self-government bodies, laws and regulations should be aimed at creating opportunities for more and more citizens of the Republic of Armenia to get rich through legal work and/or activities.

With your permission, let me repeat. One of the key tasks of the Government and the National Assembly, public and local self-government bodies, laws and regulations should be aimed at creating opportunities for more and more citizens of the Republic of Armenia to get rich through legal work or activities.

This is something that our state bodies have not only missed from their attention since the day they were founded, but also there was no such task in their genetics at all, and the solving this problem is of key importance. In the genetics and procedures of our state bodies, until today, we all have never said, never noted the following: what issue are we solving, what problem should we solve? But we have to solve some problems. We need to solve the following problem: to create an opportunity for more and more people working and doing activities in the Republic of Armenia to become rich. Not "make ends meet" but get rich, you understand? The whole point and purpose of our government is to get more and more people to "make ends meet" and this is the key definition of our reality, while we must formulate our goals, our task should be that more and more people have a real chance to get rich legally through competitive work.

We must adapt all our legislation, procedures, foreign and domestic policies to these needs, to the needs of "Real Armenia". This is a long, complicated work, and we have to start this work from today.

The critics have something very specific to say on this point, which is as follows. and what have you been up to now, the last six and a half years? Of course, it cannot be said that we have not carried out works in this direction, we have carried out many works, but it is very important that we have not carried out these works under a clear conceptual formulation and plan. And I have to admit that the main thing that we have all done in the last six and a half years is grabbling between Historical and Real Armenia.

Let's finally admit that before there was not even grabbling at all, and we spent most of our time, conflicting between Historical and Real Armenia. Maybe later than desired, but that grabbling is over. The Government and the parliamentary majority have chosen the Real Armenia concept as their strategy. I am sure that the people of the Republic of Armenia have also chosen Real Armenia and will reaffirm their choice on the next opportunity.

Dear colleagues, I would very much like the discussions of the draft state budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2025 to proceed not only in terms of numbers and percentages, but also under political discussions of the concepts listed above. We all have to answer a specific question. And what laws, decisions should we adopt and/or cancel, what procedures should we establish and/or cancel, so that more people in the Republic of Armenia have the opportunity to get rich with legal work and activities?

Correct answers to these questions mean that we will ensure the development and sustainability of our state, that is, our identity.

Thank you.