New Tax Code approved in Georgia

73 members of the Georgian Parliament voted for the new Tax Code at today's session. Opposition parliamentarians refused to vote, reports Georgia News. Before the Code was passed in its third reading, harsh debates took place between the opposition parties and the parliamentary majority. Nevertheless, the Code was approved with no regard to the points made by the opposition. The Code is to come into effect on the 1st of January 2011.

Armenia passes law on switching to pension savings system

The Armenian parliament has passed a law on switching to a pensionsavings system by 70 to 14 in the first reading, news.am reports. Theswitch is applied to 5 basic laws and 47 amendments.

Tax benefits for press and agriculture in Georgia will remain

Georgian Finance Minister Kakha Baindurashvili has said that the press will not be taxed. The declaration was made at a session of the budget-finance committee of the Georgian parliament, where the new tax code project was considered, Business Georgia reports.Baindurashvili said that the Georgian economy is still developing and too fragile to tax the press and agriculture. The press has a low income and taxing it would create serious financial problems for it, he said.

Georgia increases penalties for road accidents

The Georgian government is increasing administrative penalties and penalties for road accidents will rise, Georgia Online reports.

Amendments to Azerbaijani state budget passed

The Azerbaijani parliament recorded 98 votes for and 5 against amendments to the state budget for 2010. The budget deficit was reduced from $1.561 billion to $963 million, down from 3.9% to 2.3%. Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said that there had been additional expenses, due to natural disasters when the Kura and Araz rivers began flooding.

Kuban approved establishment of road investment fund

The governor of Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachov, approved establishment of the federal road fund proposed by the government on May 19th. The fund will build and reconstruct roads, accumulating minimal finances for road network upkeep, Yuga.ru reports.

Export assistance service established in Georgia

The investment agency of the Georgian Ministry of Economic Developmenthas established an export assistance service, the head of the agencyIrakli Matkava said today, Trend reports.The service will be headed by Mikhail Kobaladze.

Armenia in 52nd position in world growth index

Armenia is in 52nd place out of 125 other countries according to acomparative analysis of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on stimulationof world commerce for 2010.

Novorossiyskiy grain terminal penalized

The Federal Anti-monopoly Service (FAS) has fined the 'Novorossiyskiygrain terminal' 10.4 million rubles. The Russian FAS said that thecompany as part of 'Novorossiyskiy grain terminal' and 'Novorossiyskiycommercial seaport' broke the law, part 1 article 10 of the federallaw 'On business competition protection', Yuga.ru reports.

5% growth expected in Armenian tourism

Armenia marked a growth in the tourism sector of 9.4% in the firstfour months of 2010, Armenian Economy Minister Ara Petrosyan saidtoday.“Despite the challenges last year in all spheres of the economy, whenglobal tourism was badly damaged, nonetheless, Armenia saw a growth intourism of 3%, at a time when world tourism saw a 4% fall”, theminister said, panorama.am reports.He said that world tourism expects a 2% rise this year, and Armenia 5%.

Oil can no longer be the engine of Azerbaijani economic growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Azerbaijan that oilextraction can no longer be the source of the country’s economicgrowth. The report was made after the latest annual survey of theAzerbaijani economy, provided by the 4th article of IMF’s Charter,PRIME-TASS reports.

Personal taxmen for Georgian businessmen

Georgian businessmen are to have their own tax agents. According to the head of the Georgian tax service Georgiy Tskhakaya, they will simplify relations between businessmen and the tax service. This arrangement will start working in the near future, Business Georgia reports.Specialists say that most importantly the service should be free.

Inflation in Turkey set to reach 8.4% by yearend

The head of the Central Bank of Turkey Durmus Yilmaz has declared thataccording to forecasts the inflation level by the end of the year willbe 8.4%, 6news reports.The inflation level in 2012 will drop to 5%, he said.

Freight and passenger traffic in Georgian airports increased

Commodity turnover and passenger transportation indicators in Georgianinternational airports have increased, Business Georgia reports,citing the head of transport administration Levan Chichinadze.The number of passengers in the first quarter of 2010 increased by14,899, making 153,742, a 10.7% rise compared with the same period in2009.The total number of passengers transported in 2009 was 772, 270, whilethe 2010 forecast is 815,400.

Azerbaijan to cooperate with Russia's Stavropol

Azerbaijan and Russia's Stavropol Territory will sign an agreement onWednesday on economic, scientific and cultural cooperation,Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Ali Gasanov said at a business forumin Baku, Trend reports.Foreign turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia totalled $1.8 billionin 2009, which is some 60% higher than the average turnover betweenCIS countries, Gasanov said.

Armenian government toughens control over major taxpayers

The Armenian government will toughen control over big businesses tomake their activities more transparent, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyansaid on Thursday "The Ministry of Finance has already listed country's major taxpayers,the annual income of which exceeded AMD 1 billion in 2009," Sargsyansaid during a cabinet session. He admitted that government should observe closely the activities ofbig business, which sometimes create obstacles to the development ofsmall and medium businesses.