Peregraf
The Iraqi Council of Ministers has decided to pay all the outstanding salaries of the Kurdistan Region. It will continue to pay the next monthly salaries until the end of the year which was the recommendation of the meetings between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad in the past two days.
The Iraqi Council of Ministers has resolved to disburse all pending salaries for public employees in the Kurdistan Region. It will maintain the payment of subsequent monthly salaries through the end of the year, as recommended during recent discussions between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad over the past two days.
Amanj Rahim, Secretary of the KRG’s Council of Ministers, announced that the Iraqi Council of Ministers has today voted in favor of the recommendations put forth during yesterday's joint session of the Federal Economic Council and the Kurdistan Regional Economic Council.
According to the Secretary of the KRG’s Council of Ministers, the recommendation included "sending the suspended salaries of the Kurdistan Region from February to August, continue to pay the salaries of the Kurdistan Region until the end of the 2024 fiscal year."
The Iraqi Council of Ministers has determined that the Iraqi Ministry of Finance will disburse the salaries for July to the Kurdistan Region and will proceed with the payment of salaries from September to December of this year. Additionally, salaries that have not been paid in recent months due to payroll issues will also be paid.
During the meetings held on the 8th and 9th of this month in Erbil, an agreement concerning the salary issue was established between the Iraqi Council of Ministers and the KRG Economic Council.
The challenges related to salary payrolls and the Iraqi Federal Government's banking initiative, Tawtin (localization), for KRG civil servants are expected to be addressed by the conclusion of this year. Until that time, there will be no impediments to the payment of salaries for the Kurdistan region's public employees.
The Iraqi Ministry of Finance has disbursed the salaries for August to civil servants in Kurdistan, while the salaries for July remain unpaid. Nevertheless, the KRG has utilized the funds received for August to distribute the July salaries. Consequently, it is anticipated that the Iraqi Ministry of Finance will eventually pay the July salaries, while the KRG will proceed with the distribution of the August salaries.
KRG’s Ministry of Finance is anticipated to present the salary payroll for August to the Iraqi Ministry of Finance within the forthcoming two days.
A vital economic meeting took place in Erbil over the last two days, involving high-ranking officials from both the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad. Members of the Iraqi Economic Council of Ministers and the Economic Council of the Kurdistan Region engaged in comprehensive discussions regarding salaries, oil, border revenues, and taxation matters.
During the meetings, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami informed KRG officials that there are still concerns regarding the payroll list, specifically noting the existence of duplicate names and the absence of biometric registration data for Public employees in the Kurdistan Region.
Taif Sami additionally requested that the KRG provide the salary payroll in the same format as the July payroll, as they have rectified the discrepancies. "We will not accept a payroll that includes any additional names," she stressed.
As reported by media sources affiliated with KDP and the Prime Minister of the KRG, recent discussions over the past two days have led to an agreement between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad on multiple issues, including:
1. The resolution of the salary issue and the disbursement of the August salaries is underway. The payroll for August is expected to be forwarded by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to Baghdad by the end of this week. Baghdad is anticipated to process the August salaries using the same audited payroll utilized for July.
2. A collaborative committee will be established to eliminate the customs checkpoints that exist between the Kurdistan Region and various Iraqi cities. The initiative to remove all checkpoints is set to commence next week.
3. Following a mutual agreement regarding corporate taxation, it has been determined that businesses operating in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq will remit taxes solely to one government. Registration with any government will be recognized officially, thereby eliminating the necessity for dual taxation by two separate governments.
4. Efforts are being made to address investment-related concerns between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, particularly regarding investment projects and their associated licenses. A delegation from the KRG’s Investment Board is scheduled to visit Baghdad next week to discuss these matters.