Iranian Parl. rejects outlines of next fiscal’s budget bill

During the Parliament’s open session on Tuesday, the legislators cast 99 votes for and 148 votes against the bill, while 12 abstained from voting.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said, “Although the Joint Commission has corrected the objections to the bill, the government did not agree on such corrections.”

The joint commission is a parliamentary body responsible for reviewing the budget bill as well as five-year development plans proposed by the government before it is put to a legislative vote.

Therefore, Ghalibaf noted, the government needs to reform the bill and submit it to Parliament again.

In the fiscal 2021-22 budget, the operating budget (including revenues derived mainly from taxation and exports at the disposal of the government) has been projected to stand at 8,413 trillion rials ($32.35 billion at the market exchange rate of 260,000 rials per dollar).

Moreover, revenues earmarked for ministries and governmental institutions worth 884 trillion rials (around $3.8 billion) take the total sum of the general budget to 9,298 trillion rials (around $36 billion).

The budget of state companies, banks and for-profit organizations has been put at 15,619 trillion rials (around $66 billion).

All in all, the ceiling set for the government’s total budget is at 24,357 trillion rials (around $105 billion).

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