Baghdad: The Parliamentary Finance Committee disclosed insights from a recent meeting with Finance Minister Taif Sami, which concluded inside Parliament on Sunday afternoon. Committee Chairman MP Atwan Al-Atwani spoke to reporters, including a correspondent for National Iraqi News Agency (NINA), highlighting that the government is currently grappling with numerous obligations in both the operational and investment budgets. Despite these challenges, there is an anticipation for the 2025 budget schedules to be received within the year, notwithstanding the current delays.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Article 77, paragraph 2, of the Budget Law mandates the government to present the budget schedules before the end of 2024. This requirement is crucial to streamline the spending process and address the needs of various segments reliant on the budget, such as contract confirmations and other pending activities. The government, along with the Ministry of Finance and other ministries, is actively examining methods to mitigate the financial deficit caused by increased investment spending. The budget tables are expected to arrive in the coming months as these assessments continue.

MP Atwan Al-Atwani further stressed that a comprehensive analysis of the expenditures and revenues is still pending, which is necessary to set a clear ceiling for the deficit. The Ministry of Finance is currently exploring solutions to manage the deficit arising from existing spending patterns and new budgetary commitments. The delay in the submission of budget tables is attributed to the ongoing examination of ministry data to ensure the accuracy of figures in the forthcoming budget schedules.