Iran Regime’s New Budget Benefits the Mullahs and the Military Above All Else

NCRI – Iranian regime’s latest budget is roughly $350 billion for the financial year 2018/2019. It is currently most well known for a highly unpopular draft that sparked nationwide anti-regime protests in Iran at the turn of the year.

Let’s look at it now.

How is it funded?

• oil: a natural resource that belongs to the Iranian people and is being stolen by the mullahs, which amounted to $50 billion in the last fiscal year

• taxes: President Hassan Rouhani will raise taxes by 11% or $55 billion, which means they’ll be taking more in taxes than in oil

• increasing bonds: Rouhani wants to increase its bonds to $45 billion, but this is only appropriate under a popular government, not one where the people are openly calling for your death

• eliminating cash handouts or subsidies: this will hurt at least 30 million people living in poverty, in order to raise another $5 billion

A note on taxes

It is important to note that unlike democratic countries, taxes in Iran are not used to fix infrastructure, provide education, or train doctors. Instead, the mullahs are stealing money from the people that they cannot afford and spending it on foreign wars.

Those investing in Iran, even those who have made sure that the business they’re dealing with isn’t a front for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), should be aware that the majority of their investment will end up in the hands of the mullahs.

What will the budget pay for?

According to the semi-official ILNA news agency:

• the IRGC’s budget will increase by 42% or $8 billion

• the defence budget will increase by 33%

• the budget of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), which mainly just spies on the Iranian people, will increase to $1 billion

Those who will not benefit from the budget, include:

• the Social Security Organization

• the Environment Protection Organization

• the Organization for Research, Education & Agriculture Promotion

• the construction industry

• the poor

Human rights activist Heshmat Alavi wrote on Forbes: “In a country where its rulers consider ballistic missiles more important than the people having something to eat, it’s only natural that the nation’s money is poured into the pockets of IRGC members and other security personnel.”

He continued: “To make a long story short, if up to now people were managing to make ends meet, with prices skyrocketing across the board, all families throughout the country will be facing major challenges.This is the end result of Rouhani strengthening the IRGC at the price of the poor becoming poorer and the very few rich becoming richer. This will keep the fire burning beneath the ashes, igniting again and again until the people overthrow this regime.”