THE BLACK FILE”… REVENUES PARALLEL TO OIL LOST OUTSIDE THE STATE TREASURY: 3 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS (DETAILS), 14 MARCH

THE BLACK FILE”… REVENUES PARALLEL TO OIL LOST OUTSIDE THE STATE TREASURY: 3 PROPOSED SOLUTIONS (DETAILS)

Today, Wednesday (March 12, 2025), the representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Bryar Rashid, raised decisive questions about what he described as the “black file” in Iraq, noting that non-oil revenues, which are equivalent in size to oil sales revenues, do not enter the state treasury in full.

Rashid confirmed, in a statement to “Baghdad Today”, that “all countries in the world depend on internal revenues such as taxes and service fees, which are used to finance salaries and expenses, but the situation in Iraq is different, as non-oil revenues reach the Ministry of Finance in very small amounts compared to their actual size.”

He pointed out that “this file is one of the most prominent hotbeds of corruption in the country, as revenues are recorded at low numbers that do not reflect their actual reality,” calling for a review of the mechanism for collecting them and ensuring that they are delivered to the state treasury according to their actual numbers.

Rashid stressed that “continued reliance on oil as a primary source of income is no longer a sustainable option, especially with the increase in expenses and salaries, ” noting that “large sectors, such as border crossings and government services, can generate huge revenues equivalent to oil revenues, if they are controlled and managed transparently.”

He concluded his speech by calling for serious government action to address this issue, which he described as “one of the biggest doors of corruption in the country,” stressing that “ignoring it will lead to continued financial waste and weakening of the national economy.”

Non-oil revenues in Iraq have always been a thorny issue that reflects the challenges of administrative and financial corruption in the country. Although Iraq has diverse sources of income, such as taxes, customs, government service fees, and tourism revenues, these resources are not clearly reflected in the state’s general budget, as they are recorded in modest numbers.

Experts believe that enhancing transparency, improving the collection system  and combating corruption are the most prominent  solutions proposed  to reform this file. This may enable Iraq to finance a large part of its budget away from complete dependence on oil, which will achieve economic stability in the long term.