A parliamentary proposal to boost Iraq’s budget by $650 million through the import of 100,000 cars annually
On Tuesday, the head of the “Victorious” parliamentary bloc, Faleh al-Khazali, revealed a proposal to import 100,000 cars annually in exchange for scrapping old models with a fee of $4,000 per car, stressing that this project – if implemented – would provide the state budget with about $700 million annually and reduce traffic accidents and environmental pollution in Iraq.
Al-Khazali said in a press conference held at the parliament building and attended by a correspondent from Shafaq News Agency: “We submitted a proposal to the Prime Minister, and we requested that this proposal be placed on the Cabinet’s agenda, which would contribute to maximizing financial revenues by $650 million annually,” explaining that “these sums contribute to supporting the education and health sectors and other sectors.”
He pointed out that “the proposal was summarized as not allowing the entry of cars below the model, and the condition of the entry of cars from reputable and international companies, as well as the condition of specifying three models, and their entry in exchange for specific money.”
Al-Khazali explained that “the proposal is to bring in a new car in exchange for another car of a different model, in addition to setting car scrapping fees of up to $4,000, at an annual rate of up to 100,000 cars, considering that there are 8 million cars in Iraq.”
Al-Khazali explained that “the cars that are scrapped will provide a source of metals and other materials, and they weigh an average of about 3 tons per car. This will provide other financial revenues for the state, in exchange for bringing in new cars of global origin.”
He pointed out that “if this proposal were implemented, it would reduce traffic accidents in Iraq, which has recorded 60,000 victims in recent years, in addition to reducing air pollution currently caused by poor-quality cars.”
Shafaq.com