Demanding a tax freeze
Individual taxi drivers gathered not far from the «Doghagorts» factory today to hold their protest. This wide area was packed with hundreds of taxi drivers and cars.
The demands remain almost the same. However, this time the taxi drivers can't understand some announcements made by Minister of Transportation Gurgen Sargsyan a couple of days ago.
For example, taxi drivers don't understand why taxi drivers with cars that are over 15 years old have to pay all the taxes without being able to drive their cars.
The minister had stated that these cars will be able to operate until the end of this year and they will not be driven in 2010. There was also a warning that on April 6, transportation inspectors, taxing officials and patrol officers will stop those cars and fine them.
This also aroused anger among taxi drivers who are not registered as individual entrepreneurs and still don't have yellow-colored license plates.
Taxi drivers explain that they are required to pay 140-160 thousand drams for preliminary registration, including all taxes and technical expenses. The authorities announce that the taxi drivers simply have to pay 25,000 dram tax a year, but the taxi drivers consider that to be ridiculous. The fact of the matter is that according to them, if they become individual entrepreneurs, they will have to pay 25,000-30,000 drams for different kinds of taxes.
This is why they demand a freeze of all kinds of taxes and permission to work.
The taxi drivers were surrounded by police officers and officials and special regiments. They demanded taxi drivers to remove the cars and not disturb traffic. Even a debate sparked between the red-capped officials and taxi drivers. The latter, however, said that they had come for a peaceful demonstration.
Later, the delegation of the RA Minister of Transportation and Communication met with the taxi drivers. Deputy Head of the Commission authorized by the Minisry Vahan Ohanjanyan tried to calm the taxi drivers down by saying that the the Deputy Minister will meet with them within an hour to listen to them.
As for the inspections starting April 6, he ssaid that they are aimed at checking the number of individual taxi drivers in Yerevan.
The taxi drivers decided to form a group to meet with the Deputy Minister. IN addition, they decided to gather at the same place on April 6 and continue the demonstration.
