Oil revenues and fiscal policies are the most important factors in the country's economic problems.

According to Ashura News, citing Mehr correspondent, Tehran's Friday prayer sermons were held at Tehran University under the leadership of Hojjatoleslam wa Muslimeen Mohammad Hassan Abu Torabi Fard.

The temporary Friday prayer preacher in Tehran said: "Given the importance and special and prominent position of a dynamic and efficient economic system in increasing the authority of the political system and achieving desirable governance, and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution's emphasis on the necessity and priority of organizing the country's economic system, I will discuss some passages from the decree of Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (a.s.) to Malik Ashtar as the governor of Egypt."

He added: "In one of the important passages of this decree, the central pillars and various layers of social life are discussed, and Ali (a.s.) has explained the political, defense, judicial and legal, economic, administrative and social systems, and pointed out that Islamic society is formed of interconnected and interconnected institutions and guilds. The most important task of rulers is to carefully organize these institutions and promote the efficiency of political and social systems, and to try to regulate the relations between institutions and guilds.

If the tax and budgeting system is reformed, then other institutions of society will be reformed

Abu Turabi Fard said: Among the nine institutions that Ali (peace be upon him) has addressed, two important economic institutions have been raised. Kharaj is a tax that the Islamic state collects from economic activists and farmers who are party to government contracts and operate on government lands. Some have considered Kharaj to include all government revenues.

Referring to merchants and industrialists as the second institution, the interim Imam of Tehran added: In the following, Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (peace be upon him) says: O Malik, be aware that the tax and stable tax and quasi-tax revenues of the government are the secret of the authority and enhancement of the deterrent power of the armed forces.

Referring to the explanation of the budgeting system, government revenues and expenses in this decree, he noted: Imam Ali (peace be upon him) addressed to Malik: O Malik, public institutions cannot stand on their own feet except in the shadow of a dynamic economy, trade and industry, wealth creation, and tax payment. Ali (peace be upon him) considers the mission of merchants and traders to be the creation of an efficient, disciplined and responsive market to the needs of the people. He states that the mission of merchants is to create a market to support the country's productive economic production and growth.

Hojjat al-Islam Abu Turabi Fard continued: I urge the country's economic faculties and research institutions in the field of economics to discuss and analyze these words and phrases. Amir al-Mu'minin says that if the country's budgeting, income and expenditure system were a system in accordance with rational and scientific rules and principles, that system would be stable and the judicial, legal, defense and administrative institutions would be able to perform their duties well. As they say today, if you want to investigate and study how the country is run, discuss and study its budgeting system.

He emphasized: Ali (peace be upon him) says, O owner, your concern should not be the collection of taxes, but rather your concern should be improving the situation of economic activists and tax and tribute payers. Discuss and examine the issue of budgeting and sustainable incomes in detail, and in this review and consideration, express your opinion by consulting with businessmen, entrepreneurs, and tax and duty payers, identify their concerns, and discuss the problems facing production. By resolving the problems facing production, improve the condition of economic activists and production capacities in the country. The same concern that the leaders of the Islamic Revolution have repeatedly emphasized.

The interim Friday Imam of Tehran continued: Ali (peace be upon him) recommends examining the tax system and budgeting from two perspectives. First, examining the situation of taxpayers and payers of taxes and duties, understanding their issues, eliminating problems from evading production, and dealing fairly and accurately with income, profits, and taxes. Second, organizing the situation of taxes and duties. In how they are collected and how they are spent. This means reforming the structure of the budgeting system and reforming the country's tax system. If the tax and budgeting system is reformed, the state of other institutions in society will be reformed.

Fiscal policies and government spending have played a key role in the growth of the monetary base

In the second sermon of the Friday prayer in Tehran, Hojat al-Islam Abu Torabi Fard said: Today's Islamic society is facing a great test in defending a resilient and oppressed nation and standing up to America and its mercenaries.

Referring to the Islamic Republic Day, he noted: This day reminds us of the two words republic and Islam. The title of the main slogan of the Islamic Revolution, which was shouted every day in every place in Islamic Iran by millions of free Muslim Iranians during the brilliant struggles of the nation; Independence, freedom and the Islamic Republic. On the 12th of Farvardin 1979, with the vote of more than 98 percent of the Iranian people, this soaring slogan became the symbol of Islamic Iran and an expression of religious teachings. Republic and Islam stem from the pure teachings of the Quran and the progeny.

The temporary Friday prayer leader in Tehran added: Considering the political, social and economic realities over the past decade, the Supreme Leader reminded that planning and taking action to improve the country's macroeconomic indicators is the first priority. The naming of the year 1404 is indicative of the fact that strengthening production, creating added value and investing in productive areas, especially by the private sector, are among the most important and fundamental measures for the sustainable growth of the national economy.

Hojjatoleslam Abutorabi Fard, expressing the strategies that pave the way for the presence and participation of people, especially entrepreneurs and economic activists, stated: Statistical analyses of economic growth show that the Iranian economy faces serious challenges in the field of attracting investment, improving the business environment, and stimulating domestic demand, and suffers greatly from high and volatile inflation, low and unstable economic growth.

He considered the abundant foreign exchange earnings from oil and gas exports to have a pivotal role in creating imbalances and economic challenges in the country, and added: Unfortunately, these earnings have become the oil disaster in today's economic literature and have played a major role in low and unstable economic growth. Total factor productivity is very low, and the role of productivity in economic growth is close to zero. Studies of the developments in the Iranian economy in the long term indicate that the main part of the growth of this weak and turbulent economy has been formed in large and capital-intensive enterprises that are owned by the government and quasi-government institutions or that those enterprises are directly managed by the government and quasi-government institutions. Therefore, one of the most prominent features of the country's economy that plays a pivotal role in the inefficiency of the economy is the oil and state economy.

The temporary Friday prayer leader in Tehran introduced financial policies as the second challenging factor in the field of economy and said: The amount of government spending and budget imbalance are the main or most important factors affecting the performance of the Iranian economy and have played a decisive role in the growth of inflation during the abundance of oil revenues. We used to sell millions of barrels of oil for about $100. During the period of abundant foreign exchange revenues from oil sales, due to the government's pressure on the Central Bank to buy petrodollars and convert these dollars into rials, and during the period of decreasing oil revenues, the government's budget deficit has been covered by borrowing from the banking system and the Central Bank. Therefore, we have been and are facing inflation both during the period of abundant foreign exchange revenues and during the period of decreasing foreign exchange revenues. Fiscal policies and government spending have played a key role in the growth of the monetary base, and the historical experience of the country's economy confirms the fact that the main factor in the inflation rate in the Iranian economy in the long term is the growth rate of the volume of money, that is, the growth of liquidity. The country's budgeting system is its main factor. That is, the budget deficit and imbalance are its main factors.

The abundant oil revenues during the era of abundance, rather than providing the basis for a development-oriented government that sees its mission as paving the way for high and sustainable economic growth with the presence of the private sector and efficient cooperatives, have provided the basis for a special form of welfare and distribution government that has turned oil into a commodity for financing the government; therefore, financing government expenditures from oil on the one hand and the way the budget is allocated on the other hand, have imposed negative and harmful effects on the country's production and economic growth.

The main root of inflation is the country's budget deficit

Hujjat al-Islam Abu Torabi Fard addressed the president, government ministers, and members of parliament: Your attention should be focused on reforming the budget structure, not increasing your own budget. The partial attention of ministers is one of the most important problems and challenges in managing the country. Honorable ministers in the cabinet are not responsible for their own ministries. The constitution states that ministers are responsible for all decisions. Therefore, ministers must have an understanding and insight into the country's major issues and main problems.

He pointed out: The general policies announced in the field of high and sustainable economic growth are not considered in decision-making, and the failure to direct resources from the sale of oil and petroleum products to the real sector of the economy, namely the private and cooperative sectors, has practically resulted in the failure to take principled and solid steps, despite the extensive costs during the era of abundant oil revenues, in the path of development and progress, promotion of public welfare, and growth of social capital. In contrast, the measures that have been taken and are being taken, including unproductive employment and inefficient human resources in an inefficient administrative system and the expansion of the size of the government, an early retirement system, development plans lacking economic justification without accurate forecasting and securing resources, and the creation of unnecessary costs, have led to an increase in the gap between costs and revenues and the growth of the budget deficit, the establishment of banking and the central bank, and as a result, high and volatile inflation, and laid the groundwork for one of the most important components that destroy public welfare and reduce social capital, namely high and volatile inflation.

The interim Friday prayer leader in Tehran emphasized: "From the perspective of most economists, the main root of inflation is the country's budget deficit, and the root of the budget deficit is government ownership and carrying out affairs that are not defined within the framework of governance duties. Eliminating all unnecessary expenses, shrinking the government in proportion to governance duties, appropriate planning to improve the efficiency and productivity of the three branches of government and all institutions and organizations that use the country's public budget, by changing and reforming administrative procedures, strengthening e-government, and monitoring outputs and functions are among the most important measures to free up resources and direct the country's resources to the economic sphere with a prominent role for the private sector."

More than seven and a half million barrels of oil equivalent to daily energy is distributed almost free and unfairly in the country

Hujjat al-Islam Abu Torabi Fard considered hidden and overt subsidies, especially hidden and overt subsidies in the energy sector, as one of the important areas in shaping the country's economic situation, and added: The result of these conditions is that a country that relies on huge gas and oil reservoirs to supply gas in the winter is facing bottlenecks and challenges. More than seven and a half million barrels of oil equivalent to daily energy is distributed almost free and unfairly in the country. Whoever can make better use of this subsidy has more income. If this large amount of wealth is directed with proper planning in a direction that leads to the growth of the national economy, high and sustainable economic growth, an increase in per capita income, and a fair distribution of income, what a great transformation will occur in the country.

He added: "Given the current state of the Iranian economy, which is facing challenges such as sanctions, reduced investment, and high inflation, in order to achieve the major goals set forth in the above documents and general policies of the resistance economy, the Seventh Progress Plan, the Law on Removing Obstacles to Operational Production, and the implementation of the year's issue, I propose that a council consisting of key economic ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank, the heads of the parliamentary economic committees, the head of the National Fund Development Executive Board, and prominent academic figures and experts in the field of macroeconomics and efficient and reputable entrepreneurs be formed, with the presence of some senior and successful managers of the 13th government, chaired by the esteemed President, and a comprehensive program centered on investment for production with the aim of creating a suitable economic environment by the government for investors, especially the private and cooperative sectors, with the following strategies, be formed, and regular meetings be held, and its report be made known to the nation;

1- Managing the interest rate of financing

2- Eliminating energy imbalances for production

3- Speeding up the issuance of business licenses

4- Determining priorities and preventing parallel work in the field of investment

5- Planning to achieve relative stability, especially in the field of exchange rates, stability of laws and regulations, and timely and accurate fulfillment of government obligations

6- Transferring high-priority investment platforms to the public and providing the basis for private sector participation in foreign exchange and rial investments

7- Directing credits towards production working capital to fully utilize the empty capacities of existing investments

8- Developing new financing tools such as electronic promissory notes and reducing financial risk through guaranteeing small loans, investment insurance, and promoting financial transparency

9- Incentives such as tax and customs exemptions

10- Imposing taxes on unproductive activities such as brokerage and speculation