Title: Parliament Official Calls for Enhanced Subsidy Criteria, Citing Need for Fairer Income Classification
In a significant move towards refining Iran’s social welfare system, a senior parliamentary figure has highlighted the need to update the criteria used to determine household eligibility for government subsidies, with a particular focus on incorporating housing data.
The Current System’s Gap
For years, the absence of a comprehensive and transparent national database has meant that homeownership—whether a family owns or rents their residence—has been largely excluded or given negligible weight in classifying household income brackets. This is a critical oversight, given that housing constitutes a major portion of living expenses.
According to official statistics from the Central Bank, housing costs account for approximately 35 percent of an average Iranian household’s expenditures. In major metropolitan areas like Tehran, this figure can surpass 60 percent.
The Housing Cost Burden
This reality creates a significant distortion. Households spending the majority of their monthly income on housing may be officially categorized as “high-income” based on their total earnings. However, after accounting for housing costs, the remaining income for other necessities is often minimal, placing them in a financially strained position.
A Parliamentary Perspective
Abbas Goudarzi, the Spokesperson for the Presiding Board of the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), addressed this issue directly. He confirmed that current subsidy and means-testing models primarily rely on criteria such as financial transactions, foreign travel, and vehicle ownership.
Goudarzi stated that the necessary infrastructure must be developed to integrate other vital factors, including property and land ownership, into the calculation process.
Addressing Systemic Weaknesses
The parliamentarian emphasized that the lack of infrastructure for including housing assets is a major weakness that must be urgently addressed. One of the primary reasons these factors are omitted is the absence of complete and reliable data on individual property ownership.
This data gap prevents a precise and equitable classification of households. Consequently, the current system carries the risk of misallocating resources, where some affluent individuals who own multiple properties might incorrectly remain on the subsidy recipient list, while other deserving families are excluded.
The Path to Greater Accuracy and Justice
Goudarzi stressed that compiling comprehensive data on housing and real estate is an essential requirement for the subsidy system. Integrating these factors is crucial for accurately determining a household’s true economic standing.
He noted that the absence of these components undermines both the accuracy and fairness of the income classification process, making it difficult to correctly identify households in genuine need. He illustrated that, under the current framework, an individual owning several properties could be registered as a tenant and thus receive subsidies, a flaw that highlights the need for systemic reform to ensure justice and efficiency in the distribution of state aid.