Government: Over Seven Million More Will No Longer Receive Cash Subsidies

Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the spokesperson for the Iranian government, announced that with the removal of cash subsidies for the top three income deciles by the Islamic Consultative Assembly, approximately seven million more individuals will be removed from the list of subsidy recipients. During a public session on Tuesday, April 24, he also expressed the government of Hassan Rouhani's opposition to the removal of subsidies for these individuals. On the same day, the Islamic Consultative Assembly approved the removal of cash subsidies for the top three economic deciles in the budget bill for the year 1395, stating that the number of affected individuals exceeds 24 million. However, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), the spokesperson for Hassan Rouhani's government provided statistics indicating that this figure is incorrect, and with the Assembly's decision, seven million and 56 thousand and 52 individuals will be deprived of cash subsidies. Nobakht reiterated the government's opposition to this issue, stating that 'the government is determined to provide subsidies to individuals for whom cash subsidies are significant in their lives, and this Assembly decision raises concerns for these groups.' According to the Assembly's resolution, traders, members of parliament, judges, university faculty members, and government employees earning over 35 million tomans annually will be deprived of cash subsidies. Members of the board of directors and inspectors of state-owned companies and Iranians residing abroad will also no longer be able to receive cash subsidies. Since 1389, the Iranian government has been providing monthly cash subsidies of 45,500 tomans to tens of millions of Iranians in response to the removal of subsidies for many goods and services.