The Economic Department was established in 2005 based on the requirements of work necessity, under the letter of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers No.1\46\2812 dated 4/4/2005.
With the aim of organizing the work of the Economic Department and distributing its functions, Ministerial Order No. 70/1227 dated 13/1/2009 was issued, which included:
Defining the divisions of the Economic Department and their tasks as follows:
1 – Technical Information Division:
a. Prepares reports on economic activities and the findings of research, issues bulletins and periodicals on various economic topics, and develops training and development programs for the department’s staff.
b. Prepares statistical information according to scientific principles that can be utilized by the other divisions of the Economic Department to achieve its objectives.
c. Develops software programs, maintains information and files in an easily retrievable manner, and preserves research and reports prepared by the other divisions of the department.
2 – Economic Policy Division:
a. Responsible for financial analysis, the general budget, domestic and external debt, and providing financial consultations to be adopted in preparing the federal state budget and in planning economic policy.
b. Analyzes monetary instruments in coordination with the Central Bank of Iraq, including monetary policy management, development of financial institutions and markets, and matters related to Iraqi banking policy.
c. Analyzes the nature of national income and issues related to overall performance to measure the achievements of the economic system through macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, etc.
d. Prepares structures for economic models in order to create a comprehensive predictive framework for the Iraqi economy, providing quantitative analysis of influencing variables and their impact, thus contributing to shaping economic policy and assisting in economic planning across multiple macro variables.
3 – International Economic Relations Division:
a. Studies the conditionalities of international financial organizations, the expected impacts of such conditions, and the extent of benefits in light of the Iraqi economic reality, identifying ways to adapt them to align with that reality, especially mechanisms of the IMF and the World Bank.
b. Examines Iraq’s accession mechanisms to such international organizations and other trade agreements, whether bilateral or multilateral, determining the level of consistency between the imposed conditions of these organizations and the Iraqi side, and analyzing the feasibility of such agreements for the Iraqi economy.
4 – Banking Reform Division:
Responsible for studies aimed at shaping banking reform policies that could contribute to the development of the Iraqi economy in line with new orientations.
5 – Tax Policy Division:
An advisory division specialized in shaping tax policies related to both direct and indirect taxes. It prepares draft laws and regulations concerning taxes in coordination with the Legal Department and other entities tasked with implementing these laws. It also proposes models for new types of taxes, studies the administrative structures of proposed tax models, provides necessary tax consultations, and prepares and reviews double taxation and tax evasion prevention agreements.