Approval of the 98 Budget in Parliament; Government's Protest Against the 400,000 Toman Salary Increase

Iranian parliament representatives approved the budget bill for the year 98, while the parliament has approved a 400,000 Toman salary increase for government employees, the government announced that it cannot implement this decision. On Saturday, March 2, representatives concluded the review of the budget bill for the year 98, which will be sent to the Guardian Council for review. In the Saturday session, it was approved that next year the fixed salary of all government employees would increase by 400,000 Toman, and the government would also be allowed to increase employees' salaries by an additional 10 percent. However, the country's Planning and Budget Organization deemed this decision 'contrary to the constitution and the sixth development plan' and stated that the government cannot provide the budget for this decision. The announcement from the Planning and Budget Organization did not specify how much budget the government needs to pay for this salary increase and how much this figure exceeds the amount anticipated in the government's bill for salary increases. The government had predicted a 20 percent salary increase for all its employees in its budget bill. The government's bill also included a tiered tax payment system, where minimum wage earners would pay zero percent tax and high-income employees would pay 35 percent tax. However, some parliament representatives considered this decision 'unjust' and stated that it harms low-income employees, as the 20 percent increase in their salaries is much less than the 20 percent increase for high-income employees. In contrast, the Planning and Budget Organization described the parliament's decision as 'punishing part of the wage earners,' including university professors, technical specialists, and senior judges who are 'the country's elites.' Despite sanctions, the budget ceiling is increased. According to forecasts, Iran's oil sales revenue is expected to decrease to half or one-third next year. Nevertheless, parliament representatives increased the budget ceiling to 1,744 trillion Toman (or 1,744 thousand billion Toman) and the government's general budget to 528 thousand billion Toman. In the government's bill, the total budget ceiling for next year was projected at 1,703 trillion Toman (or 1,703 thousand billion Toman) and the government's general budget at 433 thousand billion Toman. Iran's budget consists of two parts: 'general budget' and 'budget of state-owned companies, non-profit institutions affiliated with the government, and banks.' On Saturday, February 16, some representatives opposing the generalities of the budget bill stated that the sanctions and reduction of Iran's oil sales to about half were not fully anticipated in the government's proposed bill, and the budget would have a deficit of 100 thousand billion Toman. 100 thousand billion Toman is equivalent to one-fifth of the government's general budget and about one-tenth of the total budget for next year.