Iraq’s revenues improve, but still fall short

With the halfway point of 2015 fast approaching, Iraq’s revenues are improving but remain well behind plan. The year began well, with the government passing a budget on 29 January, in contrast to 2014 when it failed to pass a budget at all. The 2015 budget called for roughly $102bn in spending, to be financed by $67bn in oil revenues, $13bn in customs and other tax revenues, and $22bn in debt. Federal oil revenue is the most transparent of these, and figures from the Ministry of Oil (MoO) show that revenues have been rising steadily