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Mohammad Moghimi

The budget of each country is an indicator of the size of the government and a symbol of its functioning. In order to create efficiency and establish social justice, a diverse range of government actions is necessary; for example, defense readiness, maintaining order and legislation, providing economic, social and cultural rights such as the right to education, health, a healthy environment, food, housing, employment, etc. These actions require income and expenditure. In fact, the management of government income and expenditure is called “budgeting”. If control and supervision over the economy, and specifically the budget, is not exercised, institutions can cause significant damage to the public sector by disregarding the law and pursuing their own interests. For example, official and unofficial financial institutions focus on providing extensive facilities for greater profit, and do not consider the consequences of this self-serving policy on inflation and the monopolization of economic activities. Therefore, there is a reciprocal relationship between “budgeting and policymaking”. The distribution of power has a definite

Since the 1980s, discussions about increased participation of the private sector, the emergence and spread of democracy, and the expansion and seriousness of transparency and accountability of government officials, as well as decentralization, have taken place. As a result, the liberation of executive agencies from government monopolies and the promotion of competition became a focus. With the introduction of the theory of “Good Governance,” especially principles of transparency, accountability, responsibility, equality, flexibility, and rule of law, a type of coordination between this concept and good governance in the economy was established. Under the influence of this theory, efficient, accountable, and trustworthy governments were introduced. New monitoring methods based on cultural empowerment and mutual trust were implemented in budgeting. In fact, trust and cooperation replace top-down management. In the new budget management, efforts are made to expand the participation of the private sector and the accountability of the government sector.

Nowadays, almost all countries except Iran use an operational budget system (despite the emphasis on the Fourth Development Plan). This budgeting is based on transparency and stability. Part of our country’s budget problems stem from the disorganized economic structure, especially after the increase in oil prices since 1975 and the way previous governments used it. Another part of the problem is the government’s spending based on oil revenues (the cost aspects of the budget are generous but not based on production). In any case, budget deficit in our country is a structural and chronic issue. This problem has negative economic consequences, such as the spread of administrative corruption, increasing poverty, and creating social classes. The way out of this situation is to reduce expenses by decreasing government intervention and avoiding extravagance and elitism of politicians, avoiding waste in managing limited resources, and focusing on sustainable development. Reducing government ownership and its size, and increasing public participation, along with improving economic efficiency, will increase government tax resources. For

On the other hand, for more efficiency in budgeting and its fair and organized formulation, there are principles called “Budget Principles”; annuality, unity, comprehensiveness, inclusiveness, allocation, and balance are among the most important budgeting principles. The principle of unity in budgeting means that the budget of all units and departments, including revenues and expenses of ministries, state-owned companies, and government-owned institutions, must be collected and recorded together; otherwise, each small government department or unit can have a separate budget, which can lead to high costs, difficulty in control, inconsistency, and reduced government oversight. The principle of comprehensiveness in budgeting means that it should cover all revenues and expenses of all government and governmental units. In other words, any type of income from any government unit must be deposited and recorded in the government treasury account, and any expenses must be made within the framework of the law and under the supervision of competent legal institutions. As emphasized by Article 53 of

Furthermore, efficient and fair budgeting is only possible in the light of democratic supervision, transparency, legality, the use of expert opinions, participation of the private sector and economic liberalization, and the involvement of people and civil institutions in decision-making. These conditions are only possible if democracy and the principles of good governance are respected. The executive branch holds a significant portion of government power. To prevent potential abuse of power by the executive branch and to guarantee the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens, it is necessary to establish a system of checks and balances and ensure a fair distribution of power among government branches. In this regard, in addition to its legislative duties, the parliament has the responsibility of oversight, including monitoring the budget, to ensure the transparency of the executive branch’s actions in relation to the public and as a guarantee of the rule of law and accountability. This is only possible if the right to access information is respected. In fact, free media is referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy (along

Notes:

• It is worth mentioning that the numbers in the 97 budget bill are contrary to the tables of the sixth development plan.

• Sustainable development is a process that envisions a desirable future for human societies, in which living conditions and use of resources meet human needs without harming the environment.