IRAN-Majlis ratifies $500b budget bill http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1308934

Majlis approved on Monday the nearly 5-quarillion-rial (some $500 billion) budget bill for the current Iranian year, which started on March 21.The bill was passed with 144 votes in favor, 29 against, and 12 abstentions, Mehr news agency reported.The budget is based on an oil price of $81.5 per barrel and the value of the U.S. dollar is estimated at 10,500 rials in the bill.There is a 45 percent increase in the national budget compared to the national budget of the previous Iranian calendar year. 

One of the reasons for the rise in this year’s national budget is the fact that the government is currently implementing the subsidy reform plan, which was launched in December 2010.The plan aims to gradually remove all subsidies over a five-year period and instead give families cash payments as compensation. It eliminates subsidies on gasoline, natural gas, electricity, and food and is considered to be one of the most important economic undertakings in Iran’s modern history.