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The News in Brief

Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Prepared by Messenger Staff

Parliament to Override President's Veto on 'Foreign Agents' Law, Says Chairman Papuashvili

Chairman of parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced that Parliament will override the President's veto on the "Foreign Agents" law.

According to Papuashvili, the motivated remarks will be submitted to the Legal Committee for consideration during the Bureau's meeting and will be presented at the plenary session next week.

The Parliament Chairman stated that President Salome Zourabichvili closed the possibility for a discussion on the law by using the veto.

"I don't know where, or from whom, she receives her directives, but just as the hope and potential for meaningful discussion emerged, Salome Zourabichvili promptly shut it down. Now, we can question whose instructions she is following," he said.

Papuashvili accused the President's decision to set a one-day validity period for the law in her veto of being a mockery of society.

"Ms. Salome used all methods to show that she does not consider herself a citizen of this country, and this constitution is not her constitution. She does not consider these people her people. She mocks the Georgian people by suggesting that we should adopt a law that is effective for only one day. This is a general mockery of the Georgian people. After violating the constitution, she started mocking the Georgian people.

[...] Of course, the parliament will override this veto because it demonstrates the Georgian essence of this law," Papuashvili said.



Parliament to Override President's Veto on 'Offshore Law'

At the Finance and Budget Committee meeting, the committee did not support the President's veto on the "Offshore Law". The final decision will be made in a plenary session vote.

In her motivated remarks, the President of Georgia completely removed the clause from the law that exempted assets registered in countries with preferential taxation (so-called offshore) from profit/income and import tax when transferred to a company registered in Georgia.

The draft law also addressed tax amnesty, which remains unchanged in the President's motivational remarks.

According to the Georgian President, these legislative changes contain serious political and economic risks. Zourachvili stated that it is unacceptable and inadmissible to adopt the law in an accelerated manner.

The President wrote that this law creates a discriminatory environment for investors and their investments. Zourabichvili emphasized that it is important not to create the risk of bypassing the law in the fight against money laundering.

The President also pointed out that the law did not provide financial justification.

At the committee meeting, the majority deputies announced that they will override the veto.