The Finance Committee begins to reduce the budget deficit.. and insists on approving it next month

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[size=52]The Finance Committee begins to reduce the budget deficit.. and insists on approving it next month[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Firas Adnan[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, Wednesday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee began meetings to reduce the budget deficit, while MPs are talking about clear constitutional violations of the law, stressing a political agreement on the need to pass it during the next month.[/size]
[size=45]The head of the committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, said during the committee's meeting to discuss the federal budget, yesterday, that "the committee started meetings to amend the paragraphs and articles in the budget according to its constitutional authority."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Atwani indicated, “The formation of sub-committees in the committee to host executive officials to discuss and study their financial allocations to speed up the process of completing the amendments.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The committee is studying the possibility of reducing the financial deficit in the budget," calling on "the government to adopt productive advisory projects that contribute to supporting the national economy and enhancing non-oil revenues."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Atwani stressed “the need to support the government and empower the private sector,” stressing “work to make the government’s work a success.”[/size]
[size=45]Representative Raed Al-Maliki said, “The observations recorded by the deputies on the budget law are multiple, some of which are of a technical nature, either economic or financial, such as the size of the high deficit, high amounts, the existence of the loan, and the decline in provincial allocations.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki added, "The articles included in the draft include clear violations of the constitution that need to be reviewed by the concerned committees before being presented for a vote."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “one of the constitutional violations relates to the existence of a provision in the draft that prohibits the promotion of a transaction to any citizen unless he pays the bills he owes for drinking water and electricity.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki believed that “the inclusion of this article in the budget violates the constitution, as it nullifies many of the rights of citizens, so we cannot pledge that the citizen will benefit from his constitutional rights by implementing the obligations to pay electricity and water collections.”[/size]
[size=45]And he talked about “another text that contradicts the constitution that gives the Council of Ministers the competence to issue an amnesty for tax penalties, such as tax evasion.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki noted, "The Council of Ministers does not have the constitutional jurisdiction to issue such an amnesty, which requires its treatment, and here the duty falls on the House of Representatives to reformulate articles that violate the constitution and make them correct and proper."[/size]
[size=45]And he continues, “The House of Representatives has two specializations in the budget, which are transfers and reduction, and with this specialization it can reduce amounts and deal with failures.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Maliki concluded, "Parliament is determined to pass the law as soon as possible, after it finished the first and second readings."[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Representative Majid Shankali stated, "The observations were divided into two parts, the first type is different from one deputy to another, and the second type is the observations agreed upon by all deputies."[/size]
[size=45]Shinkali added, "The general observations are not setting an exaggerated price for a barrel of oil, 70 dollars, and this is not commensurate with the risks of the global oil market and the possibility of its decline in the coming period, and therefore we will run into a big problem, which is the inability to cover the expenses estimated in the budget."[/size]
[size=45]He explained, "The other problem is related to the large deficit involved in the project, which amounts to 64 trillion dinars, because we may not be able to meet it, especially for the next two years."[/size]
[size=45]Shankali stressed, “The issue of making the budget for three years has not been resolved until now, with continued fears of this trend, which is the first of its kind since 2003, and a desire to make the law for one year only, in order to allow parliament to exercise its real role in monitoring the work of the authority.” Executive.”[/size]
[size=45]In addition, MP Ahmed Al-Watifi confirmed that “one of the most prominent disputes over the budget law, which was recorded by many deputies, during the second reading that witnessed viewing the report of the Finance Committee, is the decline in the amounts allocated to the regions and governorates compared to previous years.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Watifi continued, “The Parliamentary Regions and Governorates Committee recorded this, and found that placing an amount of two trillion dinars in the law does not meet the current requirements, and demanded that it be raised in proportion to the needs of the current stage.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that "the governorates are now in need of infrastructure and huge projects in various sectors in terms of energy, health or schools."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Watifi believed that "the presence of large loans in the law annoyed the deputies, who demanded to get rid of them and not burden Iraq with more debts, whether at the internal or external level."[/size]
[size=45]And he stated, “Parliament has completed the first and second readings, and the discussions have been closed in the plenary sessions, and the role remains for the Finance Committee to discuss the proposals submitted by the deputies before submitting the final version with proposals to amend it for voting.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Watifi concluded by saying, "The law may be passed next month, in order for the government to proceed with implementing its approach, which relies heavily on financial allocations, because the continued delay in the law does not harm the public interest."[/size]
[size=45]The House of Representatives had earlier completed the first and second readings of the federal budget law for three years, after the Council of Ministers presented it with an amount of 200 trillion dinars and a deficit of 64 trillion dinars, as the budget was divided by 75% for the operational side, while the rest will go to service projects.[/size]
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