![\"hassan-rouhani-005\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/07\/hassan-rouhani-005.jpg\" "\\"hassan-rouhani-005\\"")
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Hassan Rouhani, president of the clerical regime is set to increase taxes to pay his repressive security forces whilst curtailing on essential public services as the regime’s economy spirals into crisis, according to article published in The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n
Rouhani will ‘tax a disgruntled middle class’ but will ‘luckily he\u2019ll have well-paid Guards to quash any potential unrest’, the opinion piece by fellows at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said.<\/p>\n
Hassan Rouhani had submitted his tax-and-spend 2015 budget proposal to the Majlis, the Iranian regime\u2019s parliament, earlier this month.<\/p>\n
They wrote: “The proposal suggests that, contrary to the Iranian president\u2019s reputation for moderation in the West, ‘Rouhanomics’ is really about bolstering the regime\u2019s repressive apparatus while at the same time modifying some of the more reckless policies of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.<\/p>\n
“In his first year in office, Mr Rouhani and his foreign minister, Javad Zarif, softened outside pressure on Iran\u2019s economy, leading the country partly out of recession and international isolation, slicing inflation almost by half to 18% in October 2014 from 34% in June 2013 and reducing unemployment to 9.5% in summer 2014 from 10.4% a year earlier, if official statistics are to be believed.<\/p>\n
“You might think Mr Rouhani would aim over the coming years to consolidate these gains. Yet his 2015 budget is a boon to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, the intelligence branches and clerical courts\u2014suggesting that the great moderate\u2019s real agenda is primarily to preserve and strengthen the regime\u2019s core institutions of repression.<\/p>\n
“Rouhanomics, in other words, is less about growth than it is about regime self-preservation.”<\/p>\n
Rouhani now planned to spend 8.4 quadrillion Iranian rials in the coming year – four per cent higher than the previous year, and is relying on a 23 per cent increase in government tax revenue to partially offset oil revenues, which are expected to drop by eight per cent, or about $5 billion, the writers said.<\/p>\n
He is also proposing to reduce subsidies by 26 per cent, including a 40 per cent decrease in bread subsidies. Meanwhile, he will spend 59 per cent more on Iran\u2019s broken health-care and insurance system to benefit lower and middle-class Iranians and fend off potential social unrest.<\/p>\n
They added: “This isn\u2019t a recipe for economic growth but for balancing middle-class discontent. At the same time, Mr Rouhani is requesting a dramatic increase in the budget for the IRGC, which serves as the regime\u2019s praetorian at home and the tip of its spear abroad.”<\/p>\n
“Sixty-four percent of public military spending will go to the IRGC and the basij, the paramilitary force that answers to the IRGC. The IRGC is also benefiting from increased government appropriation for its holding company, the US sanctioned Khatam al-Anbia, whose budget Mr Rouhani plans to double.<\/p>\n
“Assessing each branch of the military separately, the IRGC\u2019s budget rises an astounding 48 per cent under the 2015 budget, while the regular army\u2019s budget shows only a slight increase.<\/p>\n
“Not only is Rouhanomics going to inflict economic pain on the very constituency that swept the new president to power, but it will also empower the regime apparatus tasked with taming the inevitable discontent of Mr Rouhani\u2019s constituents.<\/p>\n
“In addition, Mr Rouhani would strengthen the other branches of Iran\u2019s authoritarian regime. His budget would grant Iran\u2019s Ministry of Intelligence $790 million, a 40 per cent increase in funding, and give a 37 per cent raise to a special religious court that polices dissent among clerics.”<\/p>\n
But his economic agenda also faced severe challenges from oil prices falling by a third, stalled nuclear negotiations and sanctions, they said.<\/p>\n
They added: “Crucially, there are three steps needed if Mr Rouhani is serious about significantly increasing tax revenues. First, he must tax the numerous foundations linked to the IRGC, the Supreme Leader and religious foundations, which are currently tax exempt. Second, he must raise revenue from the Bazaar merchant class, whose cash-driven wealth and political connection make it impervious to scrutiny.<\/p>\n
“And third, he must increase the tax burden on the middle and working classes. While some efforts are underway to tax foundations, for the moment only taxing the middle and working classes seems realistic.<\/p>\n
“The bottom line is that Mr Rouhani\u2019s budget appears aimed at streamlining public spending without cutting off welfare completely, but at the same time strengthening the institutions tasked with internal repression and external adventurism. Rouhanomics is sure to disappoint those who put faith in the charm offensive Tehran launched soon after the new president\u2019s election.<\/p>\n
“Far from turning a new page, Hassan Rouhani is mixing technocratic, pragmatic economic decisions with commitment to the ideals of the revolution. Those in the West, and inside the country, who had entertained illusions of reform will be disappointed.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hassan Rouhani, president of the clerical regime is set to increase taxes to pay his repressive security forces whilst curtailing on essential public services as the regime’s economy spirals into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[175],"class_list":{"0":"post-17718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-updated"},"yoast_head":"\n