Head of Budget and Planning Organization: Budget Deficit Due to 'Imposed Obligations' in the Seventh Development Plan

The head of the Budget and Planning Organization of the Islamic Republic defended the proposed budget bill for the year 1403, which was rejected by the parliament last week, stating that the budget deficit mentioned by representatives stems from the enormous 'obligations' incorporated in the 'Seventh Development Plan.' Since the 'Seventh Plan' has not yet been finalized, it should not be expected that its provisions will be included in the budget. Davood Manzoor's statements seem to emphasize a lack of fundamental changes in the structure of next year's budget, which could make the approval of the budget a protracted and challenging process; a situation that may lead to the budget being approved in a 'two-twelfths' format. When the general budget is rejected, the government presents a multi-twelfths bill. The two or three twelfths budget is essentially two or three twelfths of the total budget of the current year plus the inflation rate, which is provided to the government. The multi-twelfths bill is presented to prevent disruptions in the country's current and developmental programs at the beginning of the new year, allowing the parliament and government time to approve the new budget. A former parliament member stated that 'two-twelfths' is almost certain and nothing can be done about it. Although Ezzat Youssefian-Malla believes the budget should be rewritten, the head of the Budget and Planning Organization's statements indicate the government's decision for minimal changes in the budget. Manzoor stated that the budget deficit means the difference between budget resources and expenditures, and the government has currently presented the resource section to the parliament while not presenting the expenditure section, thus claiming that 'the issue of budget deficit is incorrect.' Davood Manzoor implicitly criticized the imposition of enormous obligations in the 'Seventh Plan' by representatives, emphasizing that they have included significant obligations in the 'Seventh Development Plan' and are now claiming that the government is facing a budget deficit to implement them. The deputy of Ebrahim Raisi believes that since the provisions of the 'Seventh Development Plan' have not yet been approved by the Guardian Council and are in dispute between the government and parliament, 'representatives should not expect the government to include disputed items in the budget bill for the coming year.' According to the head of the Budget and Planning Organization, some of the parliament's approvals cannot be implemented with the government's revenue capacities, and this issue has been communicated to the Guardian Council. Parliament representatives have also pointed fingers at the government for legal violations, and in this context, the spokesperson for the joint commission of the 'Seventh Plan' deemed the government's proposal in the 1403 budget bill for a 20% increase in retirees' salaries as contrary to the 'Seventh Development Plan,' stating: 'In the first year of the Seventh Development Plan, the government is obliged to cover 40% of the salary gap between retirees and official employees.' Meanwhile, according to Davood Manzoor, the 'Seventh Plan' has not yet been approved, and its provisions cannot be considered in next year's budget. It seems that the conflict between the government and parliament in this regard will continue in the coming months, and it remains to be seen whether other institutions, including the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, will intervene to resolve this dispute, and if they do, whether it will be in favor of the government or in support of the parliament. In this context, the head of the Budget and Planning Organization accused the parliament of creating costs and imposing a 20,000 'toman' imbalance and quoted Ali Khamenei saying: 'The relationship between the legislative and executive branches in dealing with government bills is clarified by Article 75 of the Constitution, and the parliament's interventions in government bills should not disrupt their structure.' The response of the Budget and Planning Organization to the 'Research Center of the Parliament' indicated a 13.5% increase in inflation with the increase in the exchange rate of essential goods. The proposed budget had a deficit of 300 trillion tomans; an economist stated: 'This is not a budget, it is a ledger.' The outlines of the 1403 budget were rejected in parliament. A parliament member stated: 'Subsidies should be increased to 3 million tomans.' The dispute over salaries escalated; the head of the Budget and Planning Organization stated: 'There is no news of a 30% increase.' A proposal to set the dollar at 35,000 tomans for the 1403 budget; Ahmad Alavi stated: 'This will exacerbate inflation and economic recession.' The 1403 budget reached the parliament; the autumn of livelihood, the spring of military. A 50% increase in taxes; experts say this will lead to an increase in poverty.