************ Actions supporting the path of financial and economic reform

15/4/2017 12:00 am

Adnan al-Kinani

As oil prices continue to fluctuate, Iraq faces today, and never before, a serious and exceptional challenge. It is no longer possible or possible to postpone the maturity of addressing the financial and economic situation as a whole and to start rapidly developing programs aimed at diversifying sources of income. Public expenditure and expenditure control.

The central objective of economic reform in Iraq is to achieve a balance in the structure of the national economy, instead of resorting to overloading the economy with external debt such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (which has become nearly 120 billion dollars) and by redefining the role of government in economic activity, The private sector plays a leading role in this activity, enhances the diversity of its sectors, ensures productive employment opportunities for graduates and supports the long-term sustainability of economic and social well-being.

Financial reform is an important first phase of economic reform, which includes structural, legislative and institutional reforms that ensure a stimulating and attractive investment environment for national and foreign capital.



The general framework of the supporting measures for the path of financial and economic reform can be drawn through six axes: financial reform, redefining the role of the state in the national economy, increasing the contribution of the private sector to economic activity, participation of citizens in the ownership of projects, reforming the labor market and implementing the civil service council system.



The focus of financial reform begins by adjusting the estimates of the budget deficit of the state in two stages without reform and after the reform. The estimates of the change in the budget deficit presented in its law, which are calculated under the conservative prices of a barrel of oil start at $ 25 and rise to $ 50 per year And under the assumption that annual expenditure is stable at current levels.



And then proceed to address the "income" by introducing a tax on business profits and companies at a fixed rate at a certain rate, and after assessing its impact on the consumer and competitiveness of the business sector, the application of value added tax adopted by some Arab countries at a rate of 5 percent of value added in the activities of production of goods and services .

Then comes the treatment of "expenditures" by rationalizing government spending, reforming the current spending appropriations system and developing the methods of preparing the general budget according to modern international standards.

The second axis includes redrawing the role of the state in the national economy through the government's monitoring of economic activity to encourage and stimulate the private sector to enter the various sectors of production in order to strengthen partnership with this sector.



The increase of private sector participation in economic activity is through supporting privatization programs and expansion in Medium term through allocation of public projects - Partnership projects between the two sectors - Facilitating financing for small and medium enterprises.



The fourth axis of the participation of citizens in the ownership of projects is through facilitating the entry of citizens as partners in projects that will be presented through the public-private partnership program or the privatization program, as well as by encouraging young people to acquire shares in medium projects financed by public and private banks supporting small and medium enterprises .

In order to ensure the success of the fifth axis of the reform of the labor market and the civil service system, a number of measures should be taken, namely the implementation of the performance appraisal system, the rehabilitation of national labor, raising the efficiency of the public sector.

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