On
January 10, the Human Rights Defender Ms. Anahit Manasyan held discussions with
the representatives of civil society organizations regarding amendments to the
Tax Code, which have increased the tax burden for legal service providers.
Civil
society representatives expressed numerous concerns, including the fact that,
under the new regulations, pro bono legal assistance would also be taxed. They
noted that this creates a complicated and unclear situation for non-profit
organizations, as they often provide free legal aid in defense of human rights.
According
to these concerns, legal protection mechanisms are becoming inaccessible for a
large segment of society, which represents a serious issue from a human rights
perspective.
Ms.
Anahit Manasyan emphasized that, as the Human Rights Defender, she has already
publicly addressed the issue and utilized various tools of the institution to
tackle it. She expressed particular concern about the uncertainty surrounding
the provision of free legal aid in the current context.
"I
want to highlight that from the beginning, I raised the necessity of conducting
proper public discussions, including the involvement of civil society
representatives. All these concerns should have been taken into account in the
context of changes to the tax policy, recording and addressing the concerns of
the interested parties. The issue is under my immediate attention. We have
studied international practices and held discussions with partners. To ensure
the issue is properly addressed, the Defender’s office has already taken steps
to bring it to the attention of the competent authorities," stated the
Defender.
Summarizing
the discussion, Ms. Anahit Manasyan emphasized the importance of holding such
discussions and developing joint solutions to address the challenges.
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