The 1401 budget document is a symbol of institutional destabilization.

In recent years, Iran's economy has faced a prolonged recession in the productive sectors and high inflation in the services and goods sectors, along with the decline in activity during the coronavirus pandemic and the conditions resulting from international sanctions.

The agenda of eliminating the preferential currency is being seriously pursued by the 13th government, despite repeated warnings from experts about its impact on exacerbating price increases and inflation, and contradictory decisions have been made about it so far.

Economist Farshad Momeni says: “This year’s budget document is a symbol of institutionalizing economic instability.” Stating that even basic rational principles were not taken into account in the drafting of the 1401 budget document, he added: “This level of attention to manipulating key prices, and especially the exchange rate, has been unprecedented in all post-revolutionary governments.”

This Iranian university professor stated: "Until the government's financial behavior is honest, wise, and science-based, there is no possibility of saving Iran."

In the same context, Steve Hankey, professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, told VOA: "Iran's economic structure is extremely sick."

He expressed surprise at the large gap between the government and free exchange rates in the Iranian market in recent years, adding: "Iran's gross national product is the same as it was 15 years ago, which means a chronic disease of the economy."

While economic experts had long warned about the inflationary nature of the 1401 budget, public observations of the market indicate that government officials have ignored the experts' warnings, resulting in the skyrocketing growth of all prices in Iran.

These experts consider the elimination of the preferential currency and the increase in consumption tax to be the major inflationary factors in this year's budget, saying: After eliminating the 4,200-toman currency, the government will compensate for its budget deficit by increasing taxes on consumers.

This is despite the fact that Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the 13th government, said: "Market management is not his daily concern, but his every-moment concern, and every night when he goes home until late at night, his calls are related to the issue of price conditions and market management with the aim of supporting people's livelihoods and lives."

Source: Voice of America