“In today’s open meeting, the members of the parliament will discuss the main articles of the Budget Bill of 1397,” said MP Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh, a member of the governing board of the parliament, addressing the meeting in the opening.
The open meeting of Iranian Parliament kicked off on Wednesday with 216 legislators present and under the chair of Speaker Ali Larijani.
According to parliamentary sources, three MPs will address the today’s session in favor of the bill and three other MPs will speak against the bill.
Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, the Head of Iran’s Planning and Budget Organization, and MP Ali Asghar Yousefi, the Chairman of the Integration Commission of the Parliament (a commission made up of representatives from all specialized commissions of the parliament), for half an hour each, are also slated to address the today’s session.
Finally after all the speeches delivered, the main articles of the bill will be again voted by the parliament.
On Sunday, lawmakers voted 120 to 83 against the bill, with 9 abstentions, out of the total of 216 available votes.
The bill was tabled by President Rouhai around 50 days ago and being discussed in specialized commissions and the integration commission for the last 49 days, it was laid open to debate on Sunday and, after two rounds of sessions in the morning and afternoon, was left to the general vote of the whole parliament.
Hosseinali Hajideligani, from Shahinshahr Constituency, was the first Iranian law-maker who addressed the Wednesday meeting of the parliament in opposition to the bill.
"While we are after self-sufficiency in gas fuel production and the Persian Gulf Star Refinery needs a 300 million credit to get completed, the government is after importing gas," he said.
"As long as the oil company is enjoying a 14.5 share of oil revenues stipulated in the budget bill, the company will never try to reduce its expenses," he noted.
"The sharp lash of tax is freezing production in this cold time of economic stagnation," he criticized the bill for pressing to collect more tax.
Finally the main articles of the bill was passed on Wednesday with 182 yes votes, 73 no votes, and 6 abstentions out of 262 present MPs and the law-makers started discussing the details of the bill.
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