TEHRAN (Iran News) – Govt. pays over $18.3 billion in a year to compensate pandemic damages. Iranian government spent a total of 770 trillion rials (about $18.33 billion) to compensate for the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on people’s livelihood and businesses and to support the country’s healthcare sector during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).
Providing various facilities to households in two stages, paying benefits to workers unemployed during the pandemic, special support for the medical, tourism, culture, art, sports, and youth sectors, paying mortgage and low-cost employment-based loans to corona-affected businesses, extension of the deadline for payment of duties, taxes, and tax debts, providing livelihood packages for families, etc. were among the measures taken by the government in the mentioned year.
As reported by IRNA, of the abovementioned figure, 495 trillion rials (about $11.7 billion) was paid to households in the form of facilities, while 14 trillion rials (about $333.3 million) was also provided as livelihood packages.
Some 46 trillion rials (about $1.095 billion) was also paid in the form of mortgage loans.
According to government officials, the support packages for households were provided for those without fixed-income who live in red zones.
Nearly 30 million people benefit from the mentioned support plan, Vice President for Economic Affairs Mohammad Nahavandian said back in November 2020.
As for businesses, 89 trillion rials (about $.11 billion) was provided to certain businesses as well as transportation companies in terms of bank facilities with low-interest rates.
The government spent 20 trillion rials (about $476.1 million) on unemployment insurance to support the unemployed and also 170 trillion rials (about $4.04 billion) was allocated to support the medical sector.
Regarding the businesses, direct tax collection was halted in the previous year up to January 2021, and also for issuing or renewing business licenses, natural persons or economic units didn’t need to obtain a tax payment certificate.
Like many other countries around the world, the Iranian economy was also severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, while the country was also under heavy pressure from the U.S. sanction on various economic sectors.
