Stepanakert, February 22.  The Minority Clerk of the US Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee Paul Grove, who is also a senior staff member with Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrived in Stepanakert and met with President Arkady Ghoukasian and other officials.  Grove was visiting the region to acquaint himself with the results of humanitarian programs, funded by the US Government, including those being implemented in Nagorno Karabagh.  In 1998 US Congress allocated $12.5 million for the "victims of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict" residing in Nagorno Karabagh, becoming the first nation to officially offer humanitarian assistance to the republic.  Ghoukasian briefed

Grove on humanitarian needs, stressing that because Nagorno Karabagh is not officially recognized, it is deprived from the opportunity to utilize the resources of international financial organizations.  Ghoukasian expressed hope that the Nagorno Karabagh conflict negotiations in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group will intensify and will contribute to the establishment of an atmosphere of trust among the conflicting parties.  Ghoukasian also noted that Azerbaijan refuses to establish direct contacts with Nagorno Karabagh, an indication that official Baku is not ready for serious compromise.   

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Stepanakert, February 25.  Chairman of the State Tax Department Hakob Ghahramanian announced that the income tax rate has been lowered to 5%.  Production and processing of agricultural goods with a complete production cycle now are exempted from the value-added tax.  On other

goods, the non-taxable portion of value-added tax has been raised from 2 million drams to 4 million drams ($7,200).  Land tax has been lowered to 6%.  In an attempt to combat shadow economy, a draft law "On Sales Tax" has been submitted to the National Assembly for review and ratification.