A thesis submitted to the Council of the College of Administration and Economics, University of Karbala, as part of the requirements for a Master’s Degree in Economic Sciences

Submitted by the student

Ibrahim Kazim Muhan Al-Khaikani

Under the supervision of Professor

 Dr.Amer Imran Kazim Al-Maamouri

Abstract:

Tax policy is an important tool in promoting economic growth and directing resources toward productive sectors in Iraq. The economy relies heavily on oil revenues. This increases the need to diversify the economy to reduce its dependence on oil due to the risks associated with oil price fluctuations. This enhances economic stability, increases the productive base, and increases the ability to withstand economic shocks. It is also an important tool in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are a major driver of job creation. Improving the investment environment by facilitating tax procedures can be a fundamental pillar for achieving sustainable development and enhancing economic stability in Iraq.

The research problem is that the Iraqi economy’s primary dependence on the oil sector, and the absence of economic diversification due to the lack of effective economic policies, makes it vulnerable to external shocks due to fluctuating or unstable oil prices on the international market. This deepens structural imbalances and threatens financial and economic stability.

This requires developing and improving tax policy as an important tool of financial policy that can encourage investment, develop the productive base, and achieve economic diversification in Iraq. To test this hypothesis, the results of the standard models were obtained using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, an advanced standard method that relies on testing the stationarity of time series. This model provides results for both the short-term (error correction model) and the long-term. The research found a long-term equilibrium relationship, in addition to the short-term relationship, between tax policy and economic diversification. Furthermore, the speed of adjustment in most models was rapid, and thus any imbalances that may occur will be corrected to a greater extent within the same year, returning them to the long-term equilibrium value.