Page 24 - bne IntelliNews Country Report: Iran Dec17

6.0 Public Sector 6.1 Budget
The Iranian parliament has agreed to reduce the government budget for the March 2017 year by IRR2.5tn ($67.6mn), a ccording to a report by Islamic Republic News Agency on March 14.
The new revised budget has been given the all clear by the Guardian Council, a state body which reviews all legislative bills to comply with the statutes of the Islamic Republic.
Iranian parliamentarians had previously agreed on the finalised total for the current year’s budget at IRR11.5qn ($306.6bn) earlier in February. The new revised-down budget is unlikely to have much effect on the overall total.
Iran recorded a budget deficit of 2.6% of GDP in 2015, slipping further from a deficit of 1.2% in the previous year, as low oil prices put pressure on the country’s finances.
The World Bank projected the budget deficit to narrow to 1.8% and 1% in 2016 and 2017, respectively, thanks to improved oil revenues.
6.1.1 Budget dynamics - tax issues
The Iran National Tax Administration (NTA) earned IRR121tn ($3.17bn) from VAT in the first four months of the Iranian calendar year (started March 21), the Iranian Banker Journal reported on August 14.
The income was earned on petrol sales, FMCG, new car purchases, property purchases and import charges, according to the organisation.
The figure marked a 10% jump year-on-year, the NTA said, following the gradual introduction of VAT at a flat rate of 9% for purchases across the country of 80mn people.
24 IRAN Country Report November 2017 www.intellinews.com