Amid battle with IS, Iraq parliament approves next budget
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Iraq's parliament has approved next year's budget of about 100.67 trillion Iraqi dinars, or nearly $85.17 billion.
Lawmaker Ashwaq al-Jabouri said after Wednesday's session that the 2017 budget will run with a deficit of 21.65 trillion dinars, or about $18.32 billion. Al-Jabouri said the budget is based on an oil price of $42 per barrel and a daily export capacity of 3.75 million barrels.
She says the budget introduces new taxes and cuts in government salaries and pensions.
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Iraq holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves, some 143.1 billion barrels, and oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of its budget. But like other oil-reliant countries, Iraq's economy has suffered from plummeting global oil prices as well as a costly war against the Islamic State group.