On April 27 the Georgian Parliament postponed a vote on a draft law on cultural heritage, citing procedural issues. The draft law envisages a new tax scheme for residents of Tbilisi's Old Town. The parliamentarians discussed this issue against the background of a protest rally outside the Parliament.

Leader of the opposition People’s Party Koba Davitashvili, who was one of the organizers of the rally, said that the vote was postponed for fear of the protest rally and called on the population to participate in similar rallies again. However, the ruling majority has rejected this allegation.

“They can dedicate a special rally to this vote. We will make this decision anyway,” MP Giga Bokeria of the ruling National Movement party said.

“Rallies have nothing to do with this. We simply postponed the vote to avoid additional questions regarding the disputed draft law,” Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze told reporters later on the same day.

She said that the amount of tax would be regulated by a separate draft law, while the draft law on cultural heritage simply approved the principle of the tax.

The draft law, which has already been submitted to Parliament, envisages imposing a 1.5 Lari tax per square meter for residents of the Old Town. The exact amount of tax will be determined by the local government. The draft law also envisages fines in case of non-payment.

Koba Davitashvili claimed that the authorities aimed at forcing local residents to sell up, as “90% will fail to pay the taxes,” and the most prestigious districts of the city will fall into the hands of investors, “and afterwards the tax will be abolished, as it is imposed only for the duration of the rehabilitation project.”

However, the majority has claimed that the initiative envisages the co-participation of residents in the rehabilitation process, aiming at the development of the country’s tourist potential.

Parliament will resume discussions on the new tax scheme next week.