Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Thursday Evening 8-13-26
Iraq Opens The File On Public Funds: Striking At Privileges And Removing Zeros
August 13, 2026 Last updated: August 13, 2026 Al-Mustaqilla - Amid the financial and economic pressures facing the Iraqi state, the files of public funds, privileges, double salaries, and reforming the monetary system are returning to the forefront of discussion within the House of Representatives, with a set of proposals aimed at rearranging government spending, tightening control over the wealth of officials, and strengthening the position of the Iraqi dinar.
The proposals put forward do not stop at amending one law, but open a wider discussion about the form of the state’s financial management, the size of spending on officials, and the extent to which regulatory institutions are able to uncover illicit funds, leading up to a controversial proposal related to removing zeros from the Iraqi currency.
At the forefront of the files is the proposal to amend the Integrity and Illicit Gains Authority Law, with the aim of tightening the procedures for disclosing financial assets and holding accountable those taxpayers who show a large and unjustified increase in their funds.
This issue is of particular importance in a country that has been suffering for years from the challenges of corruption and abuse of power, since combating illicit enrichment does not depend solely on penalties after the violation has occurred, but requires an effective system to monitor the growth of wealth and link financial declarations to banking, real estate and commercial information.
The proposals also aim to tighten procedures against those who refuse to submit financial disclosure statements, with violators being referred to the judiciary if illicit gains are proven.
The most politically and popularly sensitive issue is related to double salaries and financial privileges, where it was proposed to prevent one person from receiving more than one salary under any title, in addition to reorganizing a set of benefits that officials and employees in state institutions receive.
The idea here is based on a simple principle: Citizens cannot be asked to rationalize their spending while the doors of government privileges remain open without clear limits.
In the same context, one of the proposals includes setting a fixed monthly salary for a member of the House of Representatives worth five million dinars, while regulating allowances and privileges, reducing the number of employees, security personnel, escorts and advisors, in addition to controlling the use of government cars and aircraft and subjecting spending to the control of the competent authorities.
These measures, if they are turned into effective legislation and actually implemented, could provide significant sums for the treasury, but at the same time they will face a difficult political test, because reforming privileges often clashes with the interests of those who benefit from them.
In a parallel track, another proposal emerged concerning the reform of the financial and monetary system, which includes combating money laundering, restricting the movement of funds within official banking channels, recovering smuggled funds, and bringing informal capital into the economic cycle.
But the most controversial proposal is to remove zeros from the Iraqi dinar, or what is known as renaming the currency, as part of a broader strategy to reform the monetary system.
Here, a distinction must be made between removing zeros and increasing the real value of the currency.
Removing three zeros, for example, does not automatically mean that citizens have become wealthier or that the purchasing power of the dinar has increased; the success of this step depends on economic stability, controlling inflation, managing the money supply, the strength of the banking system, and citizens' confidence in the currency.
Therefore, any project to rename the dinar needs careful study and a clear transition mechanism that ensures there is no confusion in prices, contracts, salaries, savings, and commercial transactions.
The Iraqi problem is not just in the form of the currency, but in an entire economic system that needs simultaneous reforms that include banks, non-oil revenues, government spending, tax evasion, money laundering, the exchange market, and the monetary economy.
Hence, removing zeros, if done alone, may be a mere arithmetic change, whereas if it comes as part of an integrated economic program, it may become part of a broader monetary reform process.
Ultimately, Iraq has an opportunity to reopen the public finance file from a different angle: reducing privileges, combating illicit gains, controlling double salaries, recovering smuggled funds, and reforming the monetary system.
But the success of these ideas will not be measured by the number of proposals that reach parliament, but rather by the state's ability to turn them into fair laws that apply to everyone without exception.
True financial reform does not begin with simply removing three zeros, nor with reducing an official's salary, but rather with building a state that knows where its money goes, who receives it, and how to protect it from waste and corruption.
The real battle is not with the zeros on the currency, but with the zeros in the accounts of oversight and accountability.
https://mustaqila.com/العراق-يفتح-ملف-المال-العام-ضرب-الامتي/
Ministry Of Trade: Significant Milestones Achieved In The Process Of Joining The World Trade Organization
Money and Business Economy News — Baghdad The Iraqi Ministry of Trade issued a statement announcing that Iraq has made significant progress in its bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). This follows a visit by a ministry delegation to the WTO headquarters in Geneva last July, during which they held a series of official meetings with WTO officials, the secretariat, the head of the working group on Iraq, and representatives from several member states.
The statement quoted the ministry's spokesperson, Mohammed Hanoun, as saying that the delegation, during its week-long visit, finalized several key issues related to goods and services, completed responses to 175 questions from member states, and finalized other matters concerning the memorandum on foreign trade, agriculture, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and other negotiating files.
He added that member states "welcomed the progress achieved, as the files submitted by Iraq were adopted, circulated, and officially published" on the World Trade Organization's website, allowing member states to review them, provide feedback, and open avenues for negotiation.
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Trade, Mohammed Hanoun, indicated that the ministry is currently working to "arrange an official visit for the Minister of Trade, who also heads the National Committee for Iraq's Accession to the WTO, to hold official meetings and discussions with WTO officials and member states."
He further explained that this is a prelude to "holding the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Iraq's Accession in the coming period, which will contribute to finalizing negotiations and completing the accession requirements."
He noted that work is also underway "concurrently with a technical workshop in Baghdad, with the participation of international experts, to fully prepare for the fourth meeting of the Working Group, as well as to enhance the technical readiness of the Iraqi negotiating team to conduct negotiations and finalize the remaining files with member states."
The spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Trade, Mohammed Hanoun, affirmed that these steps "represent significant progress in Iraq's journey towards fulfilling the requirements for joining the WTO and reflect the government's and the Ministry of Trade's commitment to completing this process in accordance with international standards and requirements."
Added 2026/08/13 - https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=72552
Al-Zaydi's Financial Advisor Reveals The Features Of The 2027 Budget: A Tool For Regulating Iraq's Economy.
Energy and Business breaking 2026-08-Shafaq News - Baghdad The financial and economic advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed on Thursday the outlines of the 2027 budget, stressing that it will be a tool for reorganizing the country’s financial and economic structure, and not just a management of revenues and expenditures.
Saleh told Shafaq News Agency that "the 2027 budget is expected to have more advanced features at the level of public finance management, through expanding the application of programs based on the program and performance budgeting approach, which represents a qualitative shift in the governance of public resources and raising the efficiency of government spending."
He added that “next year’s budget will shift from focusing on the size of spending and its allocations to measuring the results and specific goals achieved by the spending, so that financial resources are linked to programs, projects, performance indicators and targeted development results.
This shift is of particular importance in light of the challenges facing Iraqi public finances, foremost among them the need to maximize non-oil revenues, rationalize expenditures, raise the efficiency of public finance management, reduce waste and ensure that spending is directed towards activities and programs of economic and social priority.”
He continued: “From this perspective, the 2027 budget should not be viewed as merely an annual budget for managing revenues and expenditures, but rather as one of the tools for reorganizing the financial and economic structure of Iraq, by linking fiscal policy to the goals of development and economic reform in the medium and long term.”
He revealed that “this comes within the framework of the trend towards building a more sustainable financial system, in which the general budget is a tool for planning and development and not just a means to cover current expenditures, which enhances the state’s ability to manage its resources efficiently, and provides a better basis for implementing development plans and programs within the national vision extending towards 2035, leading to Iraq’s goals of sustainable development, progress and prosperity by 2050.”
He pointed out that "the real challenge facing the 2027 budget will not only be in its approval, but in its ability to translate financial reform into actionable figures and programs, and to achieve a balance between the requirements of public spending, the sustainability of resources, and the protection of the country's economic and financial stability.”
The Iraqi Central Bank's Reserves Have Declined To 102 Trillion Dinars, And Its Liabilities To The Government Have Doubled
Shafaq News - Baghdad The head of the “Iraq Future” Foundation for Economic Studies and Consultations, economic expert Manar Al-Obaidi, revealed today, Thursday, significant shifts and declines in the financial indicators of the Central Bank of Iraq, pointing to an increase in the bank’s net claim on the government compared to a decrease in the size of official reserves.
Al-Obaidi explained in an economic analysis based on the latest operational and banking data that the net claims of the Central Bank on the Iraqi government recorded a significant increase to reach 66.6 trillion Iraqi dinars, compared to 35 trillion dinars that it had recorded at the beginning of 2025.
He added that the net official reserves at the Central Bank have decreased to 102 trillion Iraqi dinars, after having been 130 trillion dinars at the beginning of 2026.
The head of the institution pointed out that in July alone, the Central Bank lost about 10.3 trillion dinars of its foreign and banking reserves.