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The 12-member Guardian Council—made up of Islamic Law experts selected by the supreme leader of Iran and six jurists selected by the parliament from among jurists proposed by the head of the Judiciary—has 20 days to review the budget bill from March 3, according to Abbasali Kadkhodaei, its spokesman.
The draft budget as it stands does not take into account the loss of income to the state from the closure of businesses in the country caused by the coronavirus epidemic.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated in April that Iran could hit a budget deficit of nearly 10% this year from a 5.7% deficit in 2019. The IMF, meanwhile, has also calculated that Iran's total budget deficit for the current fiscal year will be around $58bn.
6.1.1​ Budget dynamics - tax issues, revenues
Iranian parliament approves “empty home” tax
Iran’s parliament, the Majlis, has approved revisions to Article 54 of the Direct Tax Code with an eye on moving on to the market thousands of empty apartments and other homes including villas across the country, IRNA reported.
Lawmakers want a fee to be charged on empty homes to encourage owners and property speculators to at least rent them out. In Tehran alone, entire blocks are unpopulated, with owners often choosing to leave new apartments empty as a selling point, hoping to earn more money from an unused flat rather than a used one.
As part of the legislative amendment, empty homes in towns and cities with a population of over 100,000 will be taxed after four months based on their assessed monthly rental income tax.
As further leverage to prompt market change, owners of empty properties will be charged six times more than the standard rental price in the first year if the property is not rented or sold.
If the property is not offloaded by year two, the owner will be charged 12 times the average rental cost, and the chare moves up 18 to times the rental income in the third year.
30​ IRAN Country Report November 2020 www.intellinews.com