Azerbaijan, Baku, April 29/Trend M. Moezzi
Iran's subsidies reform plan is saving the country $60 billion (USD) annually, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) quotes Economy Minister as saying.
Calling the reform plan an important and successful achievement, Minister of Economic and Financial Affairs, Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini, said if it hadn't been put into place Iran would have had to import at least 60 million liters of petrol a day. That would have cost $22 billion a year.
Started in December 2011, the subsidy program pays out $37 (USD), to Iranians while eliminating subsidies for energy carriers and some commodities. Recently, the Iranian government transferred about $23, to Iranians' accounts for the second phase of the program without approval from the Majlis (parliament). Thirty percent of the income from the subsidies reform program was to be routed to the industrial sector to help offset higher energy costs. The subsidies program, which was supposed to pay for itself, has a $16 billion deficit.