During the ten years  of its activity for the first time Shirak Centre  announces an obligatory fundraising  to continue the work of supporting   homeless and extremely poor families, and  asks the help of all partners and people of good will.  

In  the course of  only this year our organization  has bought and presented  18 flats to 18 families (with 40 little children) in Gyumri, living in difficult  conditions and shabby temporary shelters /wagon-like tin houses/.    

Since January of  2016, also because some families who had received  flats through our  mediation  sold their flats,  our sponsors willing to give flats  to homeless families put forward  a condition that  flats purchased with their money should be  considered the  property of Shriak Centre during the term of 15 years  and that the apartments  should be given to homeless families having many children  on the condition of uncompensated use and after the expiration of the term presenting them to the families     fully as their property.  Following that   condition during 2016 Shirak Centre has purchased 10 flats  for uncompensated use.

Surely, Shriak Centre has not received  any money from this charitable  program,  all the flats were bought from natural  persons through immediate participation of the sponsors, the expense of the flats was deiced via bilateral negotiations, with the lowest prices in the market.  

But recently  Gyumri local  tax introspecte of the State Revenue under the Government of the Republic of Armenia  has demanded income tax from Shriak Centre, equal to 10% of the price of the purchased flats, that is 5 million AMD.  We applied to Armenia’s authorities with the expectation of  rendering  our undertakings as charity  and eliminating further penalties, including  to Simon Ter-Simonyan, the president of the RA  Government’s charity program coordination commission.

Alas,  the  answers to all our applications were  negative. Furthermore, according to the document received from State Income Committee, besides the-so-called income tax there are also penalties for  not paying  the required money in time.

In this situation  it has become impossible to continue the organization’s usual course of activity. And as Shirak Centre can’t afford to pay  the required taxes, especially now when with winter coming many families await the yearly charitable distribution of timber which has become a lifebelt for them,  we are obliged to turn  to all our partners and people of good will and announce a fundraising. At the same time we are going to apply again for the elimination of taxes, this time to the newly appointed Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan.  If the new Prime Minister supports us and  the taxes (we are sure due to the poor functioning of law) are eliminated,  then  with the raised money we’ll buy one more flat and give to a family with many children, and if money suffices  we’ll buy a timber and distribute to homeless families.

Let us note that we begin the fundraising before getting an answer from the Prime Minister  also because every day new taxes are  added.

During the fundraising  at the end of the each working day  we’ll  put information about  received money and sponsors on our website, www.shirakcentre.am.

Shirak Centre NGO,  M. Khorenatsi 50/4, Gyumri

Beneficiary Bank: INECOBANK CJSC, YEREVAN, ARMENIA,

SWIFT CODE: INJSAM22

AMD -  2052622035941001

EUR - 2052622035941040

RUB - 20526 22035941041

USD - 20526 22035941020

ARDSHINBANK, Gayi Street, Gyumri

Account  number: USD- 2472601614240020

Vahan Toumasyan, President of Shirak Centre NGO