Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Affairs, Ali Rabi’ie says the government has no intention to stop payment of cash subsidies to low and middle-income households, adding that provisions will be made to increase the benefits received by these groups. Speaking in a televised program on Tuesday, the minister noted that President Hassan Rouhani had instructed him to avoid imposing any affliction to the low and middle-income households in the process of eliminating high-income earners from the list of subsidy receivers, emphasizing the importance of insurance coverage and providing essential commodities to these households. The government is planning to stop payment of cash subsidies to 6 million high-income Iranians by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2016), said the minister, adding that the ministry is currently conducting a pilot project to identify the well-off individuals. As part of the Subsidy Reform Plan, the government pays about $15 in cash per head on a monthly basis as compensation for cuts in food and energy subsidies.
