The ministry of cooperatives, labor and social welfare has begun preliminary studies to identify high-income Iranian households that should be excluded from the cash subsidy list, presidential advisor for economic affairs Masoud Nili, said on Saturday. “The process should be conducted in such a way that it is will not shock the society,” he was quoted by IRNA as saying. As part of the subsidy reform plan, passed by the parliament on January 5, 2010, a sum of 455,000 rials ($13 at official exchange rate) is paid to almost all Iranians on a monthly basis. The parliament recently lowered the cap for the total amount of cash subsidies in the new Iranian year’s budget bill, compelling the government to exclude high earners from the subsidy list.
