Iraq Economic News and Points to Ponder Late Thursday Evening 2-1-24

Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner

Electronic Payment In Iraq...A Project Bigger Than The Abolition Of Cash And The Dollar, With A Hidden Goal

  Time: 02/01/2024 20:54:52 Read: 2,470 times   {Economic: Al-Furat News} The economic expert, Safwan Qusay, revealed the government’s hidden goal in implementing the electronic payment project throughout Iraq and its advantages. Qusay said {to Al-Furat News} that:

  “The policy of the American Central and Federal Banks was that everyone knew that the currency auction was contributing to the smuggling of the dollar to various countries and that it was intended for Iraqis only.” He added,

 "But the policy of complying with international requirements and controlling the movement of the dollar was implemented after the success of the electronic platform in enhancing bank balances, as well as expanding the circle of financial inclusion by investigating the source of the Iraqi dinar.

 Currently, all employees of state departments and retirees are included with credit cards." Qusay added,

 "We also have a formal private sector and federal ministries that have begun to spread the culture of electronic payment to track the movement of the dinar.

 The more we introduce the dinar system within the regulatory department, the more we prevent the corrupt from changing the gender of the dinar, whether in the real estate market, gold, or other markets." He concluded by saying,

 "The whole issue is related to combating corruption through investment in technology, and  one of these means is electronic payment."

 In its session the day before yesterday, Tuesday, the Council of Ministers approved the following regarding commissions for electronic payment operations:

 1. (The recipient bears electronic payment commissions from the private and public sectors, and the payer does not bear any electronic payment commissions), and the government compensates a percentage (50%) of the commissions. The electronic payment paid by the holder (the merchant, the employer, and all private sector entities), provided that it is used to pay the holder’s obligations to the state exclusively through electronic payment, such as renewing licenses, paying taxes, customs, fees, municipal fees, electricity fees, and everything owed to the state, and it cannot be recovered in cash at any time. In any case.

 2. Determine all electronic payment commissions (at a percentage determined by the Central Bank of Iraq), with a maximum commission limit that stops at a commission amount (the value of which is determined by the Central Bank of Iraq for both the public and private sectors) and what exceeds that without commissions, and a minimum that is exempt from commissions as well ( Exempting small transactions in the public and private sectors from commissions up to a ceiling determined by the Central Bank of Iraq.

 3. The contracts signed based on what was stated in the decisions of the Council of Ministers related to electronic payment, especially the decisions of the Council of Ministers (23044 and 23620 of 2023) between state institutions and electronic payment companies, will continue to be effective until December 31, 2024, and the contracting institution may submit a reasoned request to the Central Bank of Iraq in If she wishes not to extend the approval process.

 4. The decision will be re-evaluated in light of the results of the application before the end of this year 2024.

5. This decision will be implemented starting March 1, 2024.

In light of this, the Prime Minister’s financial and economic advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, believes that the decision recently issued by the Council of Ministers regarding electronic payment facilities and exempting the “citizen payer” from commissions for these operations is tantamount to creating a stimulating, sound and simplified environment for citizens to effectively use electronic payment methods.. Saleh said, in a press statement, that

 “the Council of Ministers’ decision regularized the contractual relations between the government and the citizen if it is an electronic collection, and between the citizen and the merchant if it is via an electronic payment card that takes place within market transactions.” He stated,

 “According to the decision, the citizen does not bear any costs as a result of using electronic payment, while there is encouragement for the merchant that the state compensates an essential aspect of the costs of electronic payment in the form of high cash allowances that are used for tax settlements or to pay the various costs incurred, provided that the settlements are made from Exclusively through electronic payments. He pointed out,

"In all cases, the Cabinet's decision regarding regulating fees for electronic payment services constitutes a stimulating environment that pushes towards the effective use of electronic payment cards, whether credit, debit, or prepaid, in a simple and convenient way."

Wafaa Al-Fatlawi  

https://alforatnews.iq/news/الدفع-الإلكتروني-في-العراق-مشروع-أكبر-من-إلغاء-النقد-والدولار-هدفه-الخف

Government Facilities For Electronic Payment Operations

 The first 02/01/2024   Baghdad: Hoda Al-Azzawi,  the Prime Minister’s Financial and Economic Advisor, Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, saw that the decision recently issued by the Council of Ministers regarding electronic payment facilities and exempting the “payer-citizen” from commissions for these operations, amounts to creating a stimulating, sound and simplified environment for citizens to effectively use means of payment. Electronic payment. Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Saleh told “Al-Sabah”:

  “The Council of Ministers’ decision regularized the contractual relations

      between the government and the citizen if it is an electronic collection, and

     between the citizen and the merchant if it is via an electronic payment card that takes place within market transactions.”

He stated that  “according to the decision, the citizen does not bear any costs as a result of using electronic payment, while there is encouragement for the merchant that the state compensates a basic aspect of the costs of electronic payment in the form of high cash allowances that are used for tax settlements or to pay the various costs incurred, provided that the settlements are made through Exclusively electronic payments. He pointed out,

 "In all cases, the Cabinet's decision regarding regulating fees for electronic payment services constitutes a stimulating environment that pushes towards the effective use of electronic payment cards, whether credit, debit, or prepaid, in a simple and convenient way."  https://alsabaah.iq/91481-.html

Including Appointments.. The Finance Committee Determines The Most Prominent Sections Of The 2024 Budget That Are Expected To Be Amended

Parliament building

Economy News – Baghdad  On Thursday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee identified the most prominent sections of the 2024 budget expected to be amended, and while it predicted the price of a barrel of oil, it indicated that revenues would be the same as the previous year.

Committee member Mustafa Al-Karaawi said, in a statement reported by the official news agency, and seen by Al-Eqtisad News, that “Article 77/Second of the Tripartite Federal Budget Law for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 stipulates that the House of Representatives will be provided with updated schedules for the 2024 budget in order to discuss the increase file.” Or the decrease in the financial allocations file according to the expected revenues and the fixed oil price.”

He added, "The schedules are still being prepared in the Council of Ministers in preparation for approval, and the House of Representatives will begin discussing the budget after it arrives from the government. We believe that transmission must be accelerated because the delay may restrict the disbursement of operational and investment budgets in the coming days," noting, "Disbursement is now limited to salaries." employees and their benefits directly.”

He stressed, "The issue of updating the tables depends on the oil market and the quantities exported, on the basis of which the expected revenues will be calculated, and it is based on the size of expenditures and the percentage of the deficit," pointing out, "There is a point of view that occurred in the 2023 budget according to the quantities that were spent and how to deal with the deficit."

And the revenues generated, and it is assumed that there will be a growth in disbursements given that there is a growth in the operating budget, and there are contracts concluded in 2023 that have not been disbursed yet and must be added in the next budget.”

Regarding the appointments, he explained that they “may include contracts, firsts, holders of advanced degrees, and governorate contracts for the 150,000 degrees that have not been implemented yet and which have been transferred to the 2024 budget.”

He pointed out that "the committee developed a proactive plan by conducting field visits to the ministries that are in direct contact with the citizen, starting with the Ministry of Health and then the Ministry of Construction and Housing to see the percentage of budget completion for each ministry at the operational and investment levels, to know the efficiency of spending." Actual, given that performance evaluation depends on the extent to which the expected percentage matches the actual achievement.”

He stated, “The committee found that there were many items that were not funded in the Ministry of Construction and Housing, for which more than two trillion and 200 million dinars were supposed to be allocated, but about 60 percent of them were funded. This means that the government committed itself to a budget larger than Possibility of implementation.

Al-Karaawi called on the government to “avoid this in the 2024 budget to complete the projects, infrastructure and development projects it has started,” pointing out that “there is relative progress on the issue of performance, but there needs to be a well-thought-out plan to complete what has been started so that it is clear to the public.” "For real."

He stated, “The actual outcome of the 2023 budget is that the total revenues were 134 trillion, excluding the region’s oil imports, at an oil price of $70 per barrel,” expecting that “the same price will be repeated in the 2024 budget, and therefore the revenue estimates may be the same, given that the prices are "The world is approaching last year's numbers."

He pointed out that "the total volume of expenditures achieved is 154 trillion after adding 7 trillion dinars as allocations to the budget, so its total amount will rise from 199 trillion to 206 trillion dinars."

He stressed, “According to an article in the budget, the Council of Ministers has the right to add amounts to the 2024 budget to cover the deficit or needs in the areas of electricity, trade, and others.”

Views 121 02/01/2024 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=40068

Washington: Iraqi Exports To America Increased To More Than 110 Percent

US Ambassador to Baghdad Alina Romanowski

Money  and business  Economy News – Baghdad  The US Ambassador to Baghdad, Alina Romanowski, confirmed on Thursday that Iraq's exports to the United States had risen to more than 110 percent over the past two years.

Romanowski wrote in a blog post on "X", viewed by "Al-Iqtisad News", that "the volume of trade exchange between Iraq and the United States has more than doubled over the past two years."

She added, "Iraq's exports to the United States increased by more than 110%, and its imports increased by more than 150%."

Earlier, the US Energy Information Administration announced that Iraq is the second largest oil exporter to the United States, and its exports to it amounted to more than 5 million barrels in November 2023 alone.   Views 63  02/01/2024 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=40062

To read more current and reliable Iraqi news please visit BondLady’s Corner: https://www.bondladyscorner.com/

Top 100 Inspirational Quotes  Compiled By Kevin Kruse 

 Inspirational quotes and motivational quotes have the power to get us through a bad week, and can even  give us the courage to pursue our life’s dreams.  In my book, 4 Keys to Happiness and Fulfillment at Work, By Kevin Kruse, I share surprising research into the true triggers of workplace motivation.

 So in the spirit of self motivation, here are 100 inspirational quotes.

93. Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be. – Grandma Moses

 94. The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. – Ayn Rand

 95. When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. – Henry Ford

 96. It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln

97. Change your thoughts and you change your world. – Norman Vincent Peale

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/28/inspirational-quotes/