Finance minister discusses budget amendments with MPs

Finance Minister Taif Sami met with the parliamentary finance committee today to discuss key aspects of the 2024 federal budget and the payment of KRG salaries.

During the meeting, Sami informed the committee that the finalization of the budget tables for 2024 is underway and assured that they would be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval "soon" before being reviewed by parliament. The government has faced scrutiny from MPs regarding the delay in sending the budget amendment to parliament for approval.

A statement issued by the Finance Ministry today highlighted that the budget tables would incorporate revised spending and projected revenue figures. Notably, figures released by the ministry this week regarding actual spending for 2023 revealed that the government spent a total of 142.4 trillion IQD last year, generating 135.7 trillion IQD in revenues, resulting in a 6.7 trillion IQD deficit.