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People in Armenia’s Gegharkunik Province blocked the Yerevan-Martuni highway on Wednesday to protest against the government’s plans to impose an income tax on migrant workers.

Under the legislative amendments proposed by the State Revenue Committee (SRC), migrant workers are required to pay tax of 20% on income earned abroad.

The protesting workers from the village of Martuni claimed they received surprise notices from the SRC saying they had violated their tax obligations and were told to pay 100,000 drams in fines apart from the income tax.

The protesters complain that the majority of residents in regions have to work in Russia as they have trouble finding jobs in their communities.

"I am a participant of the 44-day war. I was injured and underwent treatment out of my own pocket. My treatment wasn’t completed because I ran out of money,” one of the villagers said. “So, I have to go to Russia to earn money and pay a tax here for Nikol [Pashinyan] to fly to Dubai or somewhere else along with his entourage. All the people here make a living in Russia.”