Bank of Jordan assets transfer legal, taxable — official source

AMMAN — The transfer of shares owned by businessman and banker Tawfiq Fakhouri from the Bank of Jordan to other companies owned by him conforms with the Banks Law and does not need an official approval, due to the fact that he owns both entities, an official source said on Saturday.

Fakhouri disclosed on the Amman Stock Exchange website that he had transferred 81.6 million of his shares at the Bank of Jordan to other companies that are registered in foreign countries in his name, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Some media outlets described the transfer operation as “outflow of investments from the Kingdom and a case of tax evasion”. 

Assets transferred to companies in foreign countries would still be subject for taxation according to Article 3 of the Income Tax Law, which stipulates that any income generated in or from the Kingdom for any person regardless of the place of payment shall be taxable, including the interest, commissions, discounts, currency exchange differences, deposit profits, and profits from banks and other resident legal people.

The source said that the ownership transfer was mainly related to restructuring capital and did not affect the activities of the bank, adding that Fakhouri owns several companies operating in the Kingdom that run important projects in the country.