KTFA

Clare:  Five Oil and Gas Laws in Parliament

9/5/2024 Baghdad

The subcommittee on legislation and laws in the oil and gas sector within the parliamentary oil committee continues its efforts to update the laws related to this important sector, with the aim of improving the investment environment in Iraq. 

Member of the Oil and Gas Committee and head of the subcommittee, Ali Shaddad Al-Fares, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah” followed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “the committee has five laws and legislations related to the oil and gas sector, including the refineries or liquidation law, regarding which more than one meeting was held.” 

He pointed out that "the law is now in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers to proceed with amending it, so that there will be greater privileges for investors in the refining and petrochemicals sector to enter Iraq."

Al-Fares continued, "The draft law on smuggling petroleum derivatives needs some amendments, as does the law on hydrocarbon wealth," noting that "there is what is called the general law system in the management of the Ministry of Oil, in addition to 70 decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council that need legal adaptation to cancel some decisions and convert others into laws, as some of these decisions are still effective and important and must be legally adapted."  LINK

Clare: Prime Minister's Advisor: 70% of the grey market

9/5/2024 Baghdad

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Salih, revealed the existence of a grey market that accounts for nearly 70% of the market or private sector activity, indicating that this percentage evades paying legal taxes.

Saleh said in an interview with "Al-Sabah", followed by "Al-Eqtisad News", that "taxes constitute in total in developed countries about (25) percent of the gross domestic product, while in Iraq they do not exceed (4) percent due to tax evasion, as the gray market, which is not known to the tax authorities, constitutes a percentage close to (70) percent of the market or private sector activity, while negative taxes, which are aid from cash income paid to the poor class, constitute (5) percent of the annual gross domestic product, and this constitutes the tax defect that compensates for the difference between the type of tax with the revenues of oil rents."  LINK

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Clare: For this reason.. Economic calls to review tax laws and develop the collection system 9/5/2024  

Baghdad  

With the increase in the size of state expenditures in the general budget, there has been talk for years about maximizing non-oil revenues, reforming the tax system in Iraq, and raising the value of taxes on the wealthy, which actually requires addressing the current laws related to taxes, controlling import operations, and preventing the smuggling of goods through border crossings.

In this regard, economic and financial expert Safwan Qusay revealed the formation of a committee by the Prime Minister’s Office to review tax laws, especially the Income Tax Law issued in 1982, noting that the law needs to be reviewed to amend some allowances in line with current income rates and develop the tax collection system to reduce tax evasion.

He pointed out that "the proposed tax increase aims to stop manipulation of invoices related to import operations and reduce tax evasion."

Qusay also confirmed that “the committee is studying introducing amendments to property and real estate taxes, especially with regard to the transfer of property between individuals.”  LINK

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Clare:  A "special" meeting headed by Al-Sudani approves a plan to introduce solar energy systems to homes

9/5/2024

A"special" meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani approved a plan to introduce solar energy systems to homes.

A statement from Al-Sudani's office received by Shafaq News Agency stated that "the Prime Minister chaired a special meeting to improve the electricity situation, in which the plans, programs and treatments prepared by the Ministry of Electricity and the authorities concerned with this sector were discussed.

According to the statement, during the meeting, "a plan was approved to introduce the solar energy system to homes, through contracting with solid companies to reduce the loads on the electrical grid system. The Ministry of Electricity's plan for generation, transmission and distribution in the long term was also discussed, in addition to its plan for next summer, for which the necessary allocations were approved, and its implementation will begin now."

During the meeting, the economic model for purchasing electricity was approved. This came after several meetings, the Prime Minister’s follow-up, and his guidance, with the participation of KBR, which represents the government’s advisory body, in order to study it and provide recommendations regarding it.   LINK

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Clare:  Parliamentary moves to "withdraw the hand" of the Central Bank Governor

9/5/2024

The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, today, Thursday, the existence of a parliamentary move to withdraw the hand of the Governor of the Central Bank, while specifying the main reason behind that.

Finance Committee member Mohammed Nouri told Sumaria News, "We submitted a set of oral and parliamentary questions regarding the withdrawal of the Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq for exceeding the legal age."

Nouri pointed out that "so far, things have not gone as we wish, and in the coming days we may go to the Federal Court to challenge the legality of the age of the Central Bank Governor and request his direct dismissal through the legal age."

 At the beginning of last year, Al-Sudani reappointed Al-Alaq as head of the Central Bank, nearly two years after he was dismissed from his post, amid questions about the feasibility of reappointing him, as he had caused several financial failures over the previous six years (between 2014 and 2020) of his management of the financial institution, according to his critics.

There is much criticism directed at the performance of the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al-Alaq, who is facing increasing pressure regarding his financial policies and his management of foreign exchange and reserves, in addition to his failure to control the file of dollar price fluctuations, according to economic experts.  LINK

Clare:  The regional government approves the unification of financial and accounting system procedures between Erbil and Baghdad

9/4/2024

The Kurdistan Regional Government approved, on Wednesday, the unification of procedures for financial and accounting systems between the regional government and the federal government, taking into consideration the constitutional specificities of the region and its powers stipulated in the Iraqi constitution.

A statement by the presidency of the regional government, received by Shafaq News Agency, stated that "the regional government held a meeting on Wednesday under the supervision of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and in the presence of his deputy Qubad Talabani," indicating that "at the beginning of the meeting, Barzani referred in his speech to a number of points such as appointing lecturers on contracts and congratulated them on the occasion of the issuance of a decision to contract with them on internal revenues and hoped that this decision would gain the satisfaction of the lecturers and encourage them to serve the educational and educational process in the Kurdistan Region."

 The statement added that "the regional government congratulated the retirees in the Kurdistan Region on the occasion of unifying the salaries of retirees with their counterparts in the federal government and voting on this in the regional Council of Ministers and approving it," indicating that "at the level of the federal government as well, it was possible to reach an agreement and as of this month, the retirees of the region will receive their salaries that are equal to the salaries of retirees in the federal government."

He added, "Barzani reassures the retirees that he will always support their legitimate demands and that this tired part of the Kurdistan Region, which has sacrificed a large part of its life in public service, deserves all support and assistance."

The statement indicated that "Barzani, at the end of his speech, addressed the electoral campaign for the elections scheduled to begin this month, saying that the political parties are free within the internal regulations and instructions issued by the Independent High Electoral Commission on how to conduct electoral campaigns," adding that he asks them to "do so in a civilized manner and away from belittling and defaming others because everyone is a Kurd and a son of this country and must act responsibly."  

The statement noted that "in the first paragraph of the meeting, the Minister of Parliament Affairs of the Region, Fala Farid, and the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, Amanj Rahim, presented a draft of the Council of Ministers' decision to unify the procedures related to the financial and accounting system between the regional government and the federal government, taking into consideration the specificities of the authorities and constitutional rights of the region." 

The statement explained that "after the dialogues and exchange of views, the Council of Ministers unanimously decided to approve the draft as is in order to unify the procedures related to the financial and accounting systems between the regional government and the federal government, taking into consideration the constitutional specificities of the region and its powers stipulated in the Iraqi constitution." 

He pointed out that "it is clear that after 2014, the region's share of the budget was cut, and there was a complete disconnect with the federal government, which led to the adoption of two different financial and accounting systems by the finance ministries of the two governments. Therefore, in the current new phase between the two governments, it is an important step and will play a role in reorganizing the financial and accounting relations between them and resolving most of the observations of the joint team for financial oversight on revenues and expenditures and the staff of the regional government and unifying financial entitlements and salaries of employees throughout Iraq. This is in the interest of the region's employees and has begun with unifying the salaries of retirees."    

 The statement noted that "in the second paragraph, the Secretary of the Council of Ministers presented the results of the joint meeting between the technical delegation of the Ministry of Finance and Economy in the region and the Federal Ministry of Finance at the end of last week in Baghdad, as well as the results of the latest work of the joint team between the Financial Supervision Bureaus in the region and Baghdad. It was a summary of the recommendations, technical observations and serious steps taken by the ministries and institutions of the region that had previously taken the necessary measures regarding the recommendations and observations of the joint audit and review of revenues and expenditures and the delay in payment of salaries, in addition to the financial amount spent by the Federal Ministry of Finance on salaries for the months of July and August."

The statement added that "the Council of Ministers has instructed the ministries to continue coordination with the federal government and the joint financial oversight team from both sides, complete biometric registration, issue job numbers for all employees on salaries, and expedite the activation of the electronic payment system," stressing that "in return, the federal Ministry of Finance must send the salaries for July and August 2024 as soon as possible so that the Kurdistan Regional Government can pay the salaries for August as soon as possible, in a manner equivalent to employees who receive salaries in other parts of Iraq, if the region's employees are now entitled to the August salary." 

The Council of Ministers also discussed preparations for the special meeting of the Federal Ministerial Economic Council, which is scheduled to be held in Erbil these days, on the pending issues between the two ministries. The Council of Ministers warmly welcomed the meeting held in Erbil, while the Kurdistan Regional Government considers this meeting an important opportunity to meet the relevant ministers in both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government closely to discuss the pending issues between the two sides seriously in all fields and sectors. 

The statement pointed out that "the Council of Ministers has assigned the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, the Head of the Coordination and Monitoring Office, and relevant authorities to make the necessary preparations in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government's representation in Baghdad and the Secretariat of the Federal Economic Council, and to direct the ministers to prepare their issues according to their characteristics and submit balanced proposals and recommendations that take into account the powers stipulated in the Iraqi Constitution in order to solve the issues radically and provide greater space for cooperation between the two governments and improve the living conditions of citizens throughout Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region."  LINK