Armenian parliamentary committee backs bill to direct part of income tax to media, NGOs and parties
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, at its meeting on November 11, gave a positive conclusion at first reading to the government’s bill “On Amendments and an Addition to the Tax Code”. Deputy Finance Minister Hamlet Sahakyan presented the bill. It would let citizens, when filing an income declaration, choose from the tax authority’s lists the public organisations, media entities and parties to which money from their paid income tax would be directed. The law has not yet been adopted: the criteria for including organisations in the lists and the maximum amount of allocations will be set by the government.
Disclosure: businessdaily.am is a media outlet to which the described mechanism could apply if it met the criteria. The editors gain no advantage from this article.
How the mechanism would work
According to the National Assembly’s official release, the bill’s purpose is to create mechanisms that raise the financial independence and transparency of NGOs, media entities and parties, develop free and impartial speech and strengthen ties with the population. The government proposes to expand the range of social expenditures introduced alongside the system of income declaration by individuals: money that individuals allocate free of charge to such organisations would also count as social expenditures.
As Hamlet Sahakyan explained, the tax authority will create and publish lists of NGOs, media entities and parties that meet the criteria set by the government and have submitted certain information on their financial activity to the tax authority. When filing an income declaration, a citizen will choose the organisation through the electronic system and state the amount, and state agencies will organise the actual transfer. It was noted that an allocation may be made at the same time to any NGO, any media outlet or any party.
To use this right, a citizen must submit to the tax authority an annual income declaration certified by an electronic signature. According to our article of September 18, the law will apply to income tax amounts calculated or paid for 2026 and subsequent tax years.
Discussion in the committee
The deputy finance minister answered lawmakers’ questions on the proposed changes. The initiative was discussed at first reading at the November 11 meeting of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs and received a positive conclusion.
Background
The key facts come from our article of September 18: businessdaily.am.
- On September 17, 2026, the government approved the bill “On Amendments and an Addition to the Tax Code”: by expanding the system of social expenditures, it will let citizens, when filing their annual declaration, direct part of their paid income tax to public organisations, parties and legal entities (individual entrepreneurs) engaged in information activities.
- According to the State Revenue Committee, as of September 1, 2026, 119,000 citizens had completed an income declaration; 92,000 of them received reimbursement of social expenses totalling AMD 7.5 billion (about AMD 81,500 per person on average). Based on 2024 results, 81,000 citizens received reimbursement of AMD 6.3 billion.
- According to the State Register of Legal Entities Agency (end of 2024), Armenia has 6,907 registered public organisations and 123 parties; according to the Media Ownership Monitor Armenia 2025 database, the 42 most influential media outlets belong to 39 companies.
- The government will set the maximum amount of allocations and the criteria for recipient organisations; it has committed to approving the secondary legislation within three months after the law is adopted.
Editor’s note
What: a National Assembly committee has given a positive conclusion at first reading to the government’s bill: citizens will be able, when filing a declaration through the electronic system, to choose an NGO, a media outlet or a party from the tax authority’s list and state an amount from their paid income tax. The law has not yet been adopted.
Who needs it: taxpayers who file declarations; media outlets, NGOs and parties that could receive funds; and the tax authority and state agencies, which will compile the lists and organise the transfers.
What it means: another source of funding chosen by citizens appears, but the criteria for inclusion in the lists and the maximum amount of allocations are not fixed in the law and will be set by a government decision, so much depends on the secondary legislation. According to the State Revenue Committee, 119,000 citizens have already completed declarations, while the registers hold 6,907 public organisations, 123 parties and the 42 most influential media outlets, owned by 39 companies.
What to do: media outlets and NGOs hoping to take part should prepare information on their financial activity for the tax authority; citizens should file a declaration certified by an electronic signature; and everyone should follow the further consideration of the bill and the draft government decision with the criteria and limits.
