Ali Larijani's Reaction to Nobakht's Letter: 'He Has No Right to Say Such a Thing'

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament criticized the letter and announcement from the head of the Planning and Budget Organization regarding the impracticality of implementing the decision to increase the salaries of government employees and retirees by 400,000 tomans in the 98 budget bill, stating that 'he has no right to say such a thing.' According to the IRNA news agency, on Sunday, March 3, Larijani responded to a warning by saying, 'The law is enforceable, and the government cannot ignore this decision.' He added, 'Do not rely on what anyone says; he has no right to say such a thing.' Larijani's remarks come as the 98 budget has not yet been approved by the Guardian Council and has not become law. Iranian lawmakers approved the 98 budget bill on Saturday. According to the parliament's decision, the fixed salaries of all government employees must increase by 400,000 tomans next year, and the government is allowed to raise employees' salaries by an additional 10 percent. However, the Planning and Budget Organization issued a statement deeming this decision 'against the constitution and the sixth development plan' and announced that the government cannot fund this decision. Nobakht has also written a letter to the parliament regarding this matter. The statement indicated that the goal of the parliament's decision was merely 'to influence public opinion.' The Planning and Budget Organization did not specify how much budget the government would need to pay this salary increase and how much this amount exceeded the figure predicted in the government's bill for salary increases. The government had predicted a 20 percent salary increase for all employees in its budget bill. The government bill also included a tiered tax payment system, under which minimum wage earners would pay zero percent tax, while high-income employees would pay 35 percent tax. However, some parliament members deemed this decision 'unjust,' stating that it harms low-income employees, as the 20 percent added to their salaries is much less than the 20 percent added to the salaries of high-income employees. According to forecasts, Iran's oil revenue is expected to decrease to half or a third next year. Nevertheless, parliament members have increased the budget ceiling to 1,744 trillion tomans (or 1,744 thousand billion tomans) and the general government budget to 528 thousand billion tomans. In the government's bill, the total budget ceiling for next year was predicted to be 1,703 trillion tomans (or 1,703 thousand billion tomans) and the general government budget was set at 433 thousand billion tomans. While reviewing the 98 budget, Iranian lawmakers approved a provision that, if approved by the Guardian Council, essential goods will be imported next year with state currency and distributed among the people using 'electronic coupons.'