Iran to fail to achieve goals set in budget bill
The budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year (March 2013-March 2014) will face some 800 trillion rials in deficit (about $32 billion based on the Tehran Forex Centre's USD exchange rate of 24770 rials), Tehran Chamber of Commerce official Mohsen Bahrami Arz-Aqdas said.
He said the private sector is concerned about the realization of goals set in the national budget, saying that the administration will not deliver the targeted revenues through exporting oil, selling assets, imposing taxes, levying duties and increasing fuel prices. ISNA reported.
According to him, the revenues which had been projected to be gained through raising customs duties will not be realized, because importing $50 billion worth of goods is not possible.
He also cast doubt on realising objectives of a plan for exporting 1.3 million barrels of oil per day in the current year due to international sanctions.
According to the International Energy Agency, Iran exported some one million bpd of oil in the first few months of 2013. Under such a situation, the entire income will be spent by the incumbent government and there will be no money left for the next government to spend, he said.
The concern is that the next administration may not continue paying cash subsidies and allocating a budget for development plans. It may even not pay salaries and civil servants in the final quarter of the year.
Earlier, the Iranian Chamber of Commerce reviewed and analyzed the current year's national budget bill at its monthly meeting.
The members of the Chamber expressed concern about the sharp budget deficit in the current year. According to them the government will face financial problems. They said the expectation of a miracle from the president-elect may spread disappointment and have negative effects on the society.
The meeting reached the conclusion that the budget bill has not been furnished with any policy to deal with sanctions, cut the unemployment rate and increase the economic growth rate up to eight per cent.
If the budget bill is approved, the country will be faced with severe financial problems, so that monetary moves cannot curb the inflation rate.
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