Finance Ministry warns Georgian TV companies to pay tax debts within one day

The Georgian Ministry of Finance has urged Georgian TV companies which have current tax debts to the state to pay the principal of the accumulated debt starting October 1, 2019 and has given them one day to comply.

Back on August 14, Georgian Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani called on leading Georgian TV companies with high tax debt to present plans to restructure their accumulated debt and start paying current tax debts.

• Georgian government calls on TV channels to pay off tax debt

The agreement between the Revenue Service and TV companies about debt restructuration is still in the process, but television companies have not started paying off existing tax debts, says the ministry.

The Revenue Service is obliged to implement the measures defined by the Tax Code of Georgia [in case of avoiding paying tax debts],” says the ministry.

The Ministry of Finance is aware of the important role of TV companies in the development of democracy in Georgia and that is why the state took into account their interests maximally the proof of which is the tax debt accumulated over the years, preferences on paying taxes and still ongoing negotiations on their tax payment schedule, reads the announcement of the ministry.

The preferences for televisions to pay taxes creates a non-competitive environment and is unfair to other taxpayers who pay taxes [in accordance with a law],” says the ministry.

The Finance Ministry says that protecting the interests of all taxpayers and manage public finances effectively is the obligation of the state which means that tax income should be used for citizens and the state overall for social and other important needs.