Iraq’s 2017 budget has been amended as a result of a 21 August ruling by the country’s Supreme Federal Court. The court was ruling on the government’s appeal against amendments to the budget made by parliament in July – underlining the fractious nature of Iraqi politics and the government’s fragility.
Whilst the majority of proposed amendments were quashed, as a result of those that were upheld Iraq is now projected to run a $21.2bn deficit in 2017, up from the $18.3bn projected in the original budget. This still marks a slight improvement on 2016, when IMF figures imply Iraq ran a $24.2bn deficit, substantially more than the $22bn figure in the revised 2016 budget (see table). (CONTINUED - 786 WORDS)
