Iraqi Parliament speaker orders finance committee to finalize budget review

BAGHDAD — Acting Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, directed the Finance Committee to expedite the final review of the 2024 budget tables and prepare a comprehensive report before the session next Monday.

The government sent the 2024 budget tables to parliament last week. Al-Mandalawi emphasized the importance of voting on these tables in the upcoming session on June 3 due to their significant impact on citizens.

He urged the Finance Committee to thoroughly review all revenue, expenditure, and allocation tables, identify deficit ratios, and find ways to reduce them. The comprehensive report, to be presented to parliament for voting, should include all observations from the 2023 budget.

In June 2023, the Iraqi parliament ratified an unprecedented three-year budget law covering 2023 to 2025.  The 2024 budget is estimated at around $160 billion, marking an increase of nearly $10 billion over last year’s budget. However, state revenues for 2024 are expected to be around $110 billion, resulting in a deficit of approximately $50 billion. Last year’s budget deficit was $64 billion.