Iraq mulling foreign oil tax

Iraq's parliament held an initial discussion on Saturday of a bill that would impose a 35-percent income tax on foreign oil and gas firms working in Iraq, lawmakers said.

"Today we held a first reading of a draft to impose tax on foreign oil companies working in Iraq," Haider al-Ebadi, head of parliament's economic committee.

Ebadi and other lawmakers said the 35 percent tax on oil company income, if approved, would cover all types of oil and gas contracts - exploration, production, processing and other activities.