Shafaq News/ A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed on Tuesday that the Iraqi Parliament is considering canceling or cutting salary deductions in 2021 budget, indicating that it is weighing the options ahead of making the final decision.

Committee member, MP Jamal Kocher, said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "there are two approaches in the Finance Committee: either cancel or reduce salary-deductions," indicating, "the Parliament is studying the pros and cons of each option and its impact on the budget."

Kocher attributed the Parliament's intentions to reduce or cancel the taxes to the deterioration of the Iraqi citizen's sustenance after the Iraqi dinar's devaluation and new taxations.

"We are studying both options. Other options that can alleviate these deductions are being studied as well. We may omit the deduction paragraph," he noted, "the decision has not been taken yet."

Cocher Highlighted "raising the price of oil in 2021 budget of $42 a barrel," indicating, "this can reduce the huge deficit of 71 trillion dinars."

According to the draft seen by Shafaq News Agency, the budget amounts to 164 trillion dinars, with a fiscal deficit of 71 trillion.

The Iraqi government struggles to secure employee salaries and other operating expenses due to the collapse in oil prices driven by COVID-19 pandemic, which has crippled large sectors of the global economy.

Iraq was forced to reduce the local currency's value to provide the salaries it disbursed in the last quarter of 2020 through the fiscal deficit (borrowing) law approved by Parliament.