Iraqi budget bill for the next three years approved by parliament

Iraq 03:26 PM - 2023-06-12

Iraqi Parliament's session to vote on the budget bill.

The Iraqi parliament has approved a budget of 199 trillion dinars for this year and the next two years, with about 20 trillion dinars set aside for the Kurdistan Region.

During its 31st session, which lasted until June 12, 2023, the Iraqi parliament approved the 68-article budget bill. The budget will subsequently be sent for approval and signature by Iraqi President Abdullatif Jamil Rashid.

According to the new law, which covers the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, the budget allocation for each year is approximately 199 trillion dinars, and the Kurdistan Region will receive more than 18 trillion dinars of this amount.

 

After five days of meetings, the bill was approved

After five days of discussions, the Iraqi parliament approved the budget bill, according to Dr. Briar Rashid, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) faction in the Iraqi parliament, who told PUKMEDIA: "The bill was approved after a vote on the articles and the addition of several articles."

The new law will be sent to the Iraqi Presidency for approval and signature before being published in the official gazette of the Iraqi government, Al-Waqai' Al-Iraqiyya.

The new law stipulates that the Kurdistan Region will supply SOMO with 400,000 barrels of oil per day, and the Iraqi government will be responsible for paying the oil firms' financial entitlements.

 

PUK efforts added several articles and provisions for the benefit of the Kurdistan Region

In addition to several articles and provisions in the best interests of the Kurdistan Region, the PUK faction has included Article 14 in the new law, which prevents inequality and inequity between provinces.

MP Rashid stated: "We voted to remove Article 42, which was related to the imposition of taxes on fuel, along with the imposition of a tax of 25,000 dinars per airport traveler."

"The budget included a provision for implementing the terms of election staff contracts, which we voted in favor of. The PUK faction worked assiduously for this item from the beginning and kept its promise; many other articles were added due to the PUK faction's efforts, as we have worked for the benefit of the people," he added.
 
The Iraqi Parliament approved Article 14 of the 2023 budget bill, which included the PUK's request to obligate the KRG to a fair distribution of the Kurdistan Region's share across the governorates to preserve the rights of people and employees.

The provision, which the PUK was successful in adding, states that the KRG is required to give priority to the payment of salaries of Kurdistan Region employees and retirees, as well as to fairly distribute the Kurdistan Region's governorates' shares by the standards established in this law; otherwise, the governorates may request direct payment from the Iraqi government.

 

The PUK worked seriously to restore the salary savings

The 31st session of the Iraqi parliament, led by Mohammed Al-Halbousi, was held in the presence of 229 members of parliament but did not accept the return of salary savings of Kurdistan Region employees.

By collecting the signatures of over 50 MPs, the PUK faction in the Iraqi Parliament worked hard to restore the return of the Kurdistan Region's employees' salary savings at a rate of 10 to 12% of the employees' salaries monthly. However, the New Generation and Kurdistan Democratic Party factions opposed adding Article 14 and returning salary savings.

Karwan Yarwais, a member of the Iraqi Parliament, told PUKMEDIA: "The PUK faction attempted to return the salary savings and collected signatures. However, there was no vote.”

"We did not vote on Article 42, which was related to the imposition of fuel taxes, and several other rejected tax-related measures, as they would have been a burden on the citizens," he explained.



PUKMEDIA