At a September 9 session of the Yerevan City Council, Manuk Sukiasyan, head of the opposition Mother Armenia faction, sharply criticized the decision to provide property tax benefits to large developers, Panorama.am reports.
“On one hand, you impose stricter rules, and on the other, you grant privileges, saying that it was at the request of the Developers’ Association,” he said.
Sukiasyan dismissed the justification that the housing market was in crisis, arguing that the problem stemmed from the authorities having issued excessive construction permits in the first place.
“Who allowed you to raise property taxes so high? I don’t blame the builders, they’re understandable. But who asked you to raise property tax that much? Pashinyan was going through people’s pockets in the city center, counting — if you own an apartment there, either pay property tax or sell and move to the outskirts. Can you say the same thing to developers? Of course not,” Sukiasyan said.
He also cited statistics that one in every 45 Yerevan residents has cancer, linking this to dust pollution from prolonged construction.
“You extend a two-year building permit to three or four years. Why? Because you don’t breathe this dust yourselves — sitting in sterile offices with air conditioning on,” he charged.
He said Yerevan faces a serious crisis in urban planning and governance, noting that even the city council’s June 25 session was followed the very next day by unnecessary renovation of the assembly hall, forcing the latest meeting to be held elsewhere.
“Who will fine you? Who will extend your construction permit if you can’t even renovate a hall in two months? Dear Yerevan residents, from city hall down to the outskirts, we are facing negligent management and irresponsibility toward our citizens,” Sukiasyan declared.
On the same day, the City Council approved a draft decision granting property tax exemptions for developers of unfinished multi-apartment buildings in Yerevan.
