At a Glance

• Channel8 insights reveal that the Kurdistan Region's budget share has been pegged at 12.70% in Iraq's draft budget, falling short of Erbil's official demand of 14.14% and 29 trillion dinars.
• During a parliamentary Finance Committee meeting with Iraqi Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari, Kurdish lawmakers expressed sharp disappointment over the figures.
• Key disputes persist regarding non-oil revenue management, customs duties, and federal estimates of 400,000 barrels of daily oil exports from the region.
• Kurdish MPs emphasized that unity remains essential to rectify perceived inequities as discussions shift toward political negotiations.

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Iraqi MP Rebwar Karim stated that the official dollar exchange rate set in the budget draft remains open to modification. He confirmed that a broad consensus has been reached to protect the salaries of civil servants in the Kurdistan Region, while contract workers across Iraq are set to be converted to permanent status.

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Key Statement and Focus Area

• Reduced Share: MP Dilan Ghafoor confirmed that the draft budget establishes the Kurdistan Region's share at 12.70%, well below the 14.14% calculated based on the general population census and the requested 29 trillion dinars.
• Non-Oil Revenues and Customs: MP Rebwar Karim urged the caretaker regional government to urgently settle Asycuda electronic customs system integration with federal authorities, while KDP MP Sherwan Dubardani denounced the allocation as unfair and called for unified Kurdish advocacy.
• Oil Export Projections: MP Ahmad Haji Rashid noted that Baghdad's inclusion of 400,000 barrels per day in estimated regional exports, alongside disputes over whether taxes and customs belong under local or federal control, will likely push the standoff toward high-level political agreements.

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Additionally, Karim called on the Kurdistan Regional Government to reach an agreement regarding the implementation of the ASYCUDA customs system.

Statements by Kurdish Parliamentarians:

• Dilan Ghafoor: The Kurdistan Region's share in Iraq's 2027 draft budget has been set at 12.70%.
• Rebwar Karim, Halwest Movement parliamentarian: The non-oil revenues of the Kurdistan Region have come under discussion once again.
• Rebwar Karim: I call upon the caretaker government to reach an agreement with the federal government regarding the ASYCUDA system as soon as possible.

"Unjust"

• Siban Sherwani, KDP parliamentarian: Speaking to journalists after the meeting, he described the allocation of the 12.70% share as "unfair," stating, "It does not correspond to the population size, but it is subject to change."
• In Duberdani's view, to rectify all "injustices," the Kurdistan Region's greatest weapon is "unity; we must defend our rights together."

Disputes, according to Kurdistan Justice Group parliamentarian Ahmad Haji Rashid:

• The issues of oil and domestic revenues remain contentious.
• The federal government has stated that, according to OPEC data, the Kurdistan Region exports approximately 400,000 barrels of oil.
• The federal government has incorporated the 400,000 barrels of oil into the budget draft.

Heading Toward a Political Agreement

• According to Ahmad Haji Rashid, another point of contention is that the Kurdistan Region wants tax and customs revenues to be treated as domestic revenues, whereas Baghdad wants them handled as federal revenues.
• He also stated, "The 29 trillion dinars requested by the Kurdistan Region have not been included back in the draft." He believes the situation is heading toward a phase of political agreement, similar to previous years.

This comes at a time when, based on Iraq's general population census, the Kurdistan Region is officially demanding 14.14% of the total budget and 29 trillion dinars.

FYI

The Iraqi Council of Ministers is slated to approve the 2027 draft budget bill and forward it to the Council of Representatives by the 15th of this month, leaving lawmakers until the end of the year to finalize and pass the legislation. 

The draft budget is currently undergoing executive review within the Cabinet and is scheduled for immediate referral to parliament upon endorsement. 

Once received by the parliamentary presidency, the bill will be handed over to the Finance Committee. 

Alongside other legislative committees, members will review the text, log their formal observations, and draft amendments before the bill proceeds to its initial readings on the parliament floor. 

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