IT Landscape in Armenia
The Council believes the U.S. Government, Armenia Government, World Bank, and other International Financial Institutions have key role to play to create an attractive climate for high technology investment, employment and economic development in Armenia.
The Council proposes that the Armenian Government take certain actions in the near term, in such diverse areas as intellectual property law, tax incentives, import duties, labor law, custom bonding and export certification policies. Specifically, the Council respectfully requests that the Armenian Government give consideration to the following actions to promote economic development in the software and information technology sectors:
1. Pass and enforce intellectual property rights laws, particularly in terns of copyright s and trade secrets.
2. Adopt more competitive taxation policies to reduce the income tax rates for software developers and corporate taxes for all IT sector employment.
3. Reduce indirect taxes on all IT related products to ensure that Armenian companies are not disadvantaged.
4. Streamline customs clearance procedures for IT hardware and equipment imports.
5. Amend restrictive provision of labor laws and constraint on employee stock ownership.
6. Encourage foreign direct and venture capital investment in the software and IT services sector through laws that provide protection of minority shareholder rights.
7. Adopt telecommunications policies and regulations to promote widespread Internet access throughout the residential, educational and commercial sectors of Armenia, and the availability of affordable high speed Internet access for software companies.
8. Develop and adopt legislative to promote the growth of Internet-based electronic commerce, and financial transaction within Armenia and with the Diaspora.
9. Consider the development of various electronic government and IT programs that could leverage foreign aid and provide funding for local software development firms.
10. Provide government support for various initiatives, including creation of an ITEC Park, high tech incubators, software training and technical certification centers, and establishment of a free zone for the IT sector.