Owner and CEO James Tufenkian Has Built Landmark Boutique Hotels and Established Carpet Weaving Workshops across Armenia

WASHINGTON—Tufenkian Artisan Carpets—a global brand long respected worldwide as a leading source of handcrafted artisan area rugs—has called on the U.S. Department of Treasury “to begin talks with Armenia toward a long-overdue and badly needed modern U.S. Tax Treaty,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Owner and CEO James Tufenkian, a major American investor in Armenia’s growth—through his artisan carpets, hotels, and philanthropic work—noted in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that for the past 17 years he has been “building great boutique hotels in the important touristic regions of Armenia to help develop those very depressed economies, and to create a broad base for tourism to the whole country. In addition in 1993 I established a very labor-intensive business hand-weaving carpets and textiles to preserve this indigenous and historic Armenian craft, and to provide work for at-risk segments of the population.”

He called special attention to the “unusual prospect, in this day and age, of facing double taxation,” noting that “such a disincentive was eliminated long ago in competing nations [yet] Armenia continues to face this unnecessary barrier as it struggles to compete for investment capital to develop the country.”

The Tufenkian letter makes the case for a “clear, reliable international legal taxation framework,” underscoring to Secretary Mnuchin that “the absence of such a framework has created unnecessary uncertainty, resulting, ultimately, in the needless diversion of investment flows to the detriment of the mutually beneficial progress that we all seek in U.S.-Armenia economic relations.”

“We want to thank James Tufenkian and his entire team for their truly transformative contribution to the future of Armenia and the U.S.-Armenia partnership,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “As a major U.S. investor in Armenia, he knows, firsthand, how the threat of double taxation presents a real barrier to new investments and other mutually beneficial, job-creating opportunities.”

Founded in 1986, Tufenkian Artisan Carpets is a New York-based company with offices and operations in Armenia and around the world. James Tufenkian, a lawyer by training, has employed thousands across Armenia, and in 1996 he established a philanthropic foundation that supports humanitarian projects in Armenia and Artsakh.

To learn more, visit: https://www.tufenkian.com. To learn more about the charitable and educational work of the Tufenkian Foundation, visit: http://www.tufenkianfoundation.org/.