Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, the representative of Mahabad in the Iranian regime’s parliament, announced in an interview with ILNA news agency on Friday, February 2, that the budget proposed by the regime for 2024 exhibits a significant inconsistency of at least 400 trillion tomans. He expressed doubt about the feasibility of achieving the predicted revenues in the bill, particularly a substantial portion of oil revenue.
Mahmoudzadeh pointed out, “Another flaw in the bill is the drastic increase in taxes, nearly 50%, which imposes pressure on various segments of the population, employees, and vulnerable sections of society. This approach aims to compensate for the budget deficit from the people’s pockets. The anticipated government revenues from other sources are unlikely to materialize, jeopardizing the realization of many planned expenses outlined in the budget.”
Independent economic experts in Iran had previously highlighted concerns about the substantial budget deficit, inconsistencies between the budget and the program, inflationary shocks, and a significant rise in taxes in the government’s budget bill. They viewed these issues as part of the new challenges facing the Iranian economy in 2024.
According to these experts, factors such as inflation exceeding 50%, tax pressures in various business sectors, income tax, taxes on employee salaries, housing and cars, and a financial management crisis related to subsidized goods in the people’s livelihood basket will contribute to increased impoverishment in 2024.
The discussion then turns to construction projects, whose credit in the 2024 budget has only increased by about 18% compared to the previous year, despite Iran experiencing more than 45% inflation. This situation suggests not only a lack of increase in the country’s construction budget but a decrease of over 25%.
While government employees’ salaries have seen a 20% increase in the next year’s budget, the inflation rate is over 40%. Consequently, 25% of government employees’ salaries will decrease relative to inflation. These issues, including the deficit, construction projects, and tax increases, were the main shortcomings of the 2024 budget bill, which was approved despite these flaws.
Another significant flaw in the 2024 budget bill is the imposition of taxes on the normal incomes of citizens and even minimal increases in account turnover. This approval, considered unusual by parliament, reflects the regime’s intrusion into people’s personal accounts, requiring taxes for any percentage increase in income or local deposits.
In a situation where the salary increase for workers and employees in the next year will be almost equal to half of the inflation rate, the representatives of the regime’s parliament approved, on Saturday, February 3, an amount of 18 trillion tomans allocated for the budget of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). This amount was suggested to be increased to 24 trillion tomans, three times that of IRIB’s budget in 2023.
Davoud Manzoor, the head of the regime’s Program and Budget Organization, responded to this change, stating that due to the parliament’s alterations in the budget bill, the budgets of IRIB and the judiciary have increased by 58% compared to the previous year, while the growth for the rest of the government agencies next year is only about 12%.
Abdolnaser Hemmati, Former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, also commented on X: ‘The parliament tripled the budget of IRIB to 24 trillion tomans. With movies that the Minister of Education proudly promotes having to advertise on Farsi-language channels abroad to be seen in the country, one must question the purpose of such a substantial budget.’
Etemad newspaper reported on December 30 that, based on the 2024 budget, Iran’s daily export of crude oil and gas condensate is estimated at 1,350 million barrels, with each barrel’s export price set at 65 euros. According to this calculation, even in the best-case scenario, considering 50% inflation, a 20% salary increase, and double pressure from additional taxes exceeding 50%, people’s livelihood baskets will shrink by another 30% next year.
