Chamber of industry urges against sales tax hike

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI) on Monday said that any rise in sales tax on food products manufactured locally, such as chickpeas and beans, will harm the national industry, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported quoting a press statement.

The ACI said that increasing sales tax will lead to regression in the sales of national food products due to its incompatibility with of citizens’ income. He noted that an average Jordanian family spends 38 per cent of its income on food products.

The ACI also said that the national industry, which is already suffering from high production costs due to high costs of power and fuel prizes and low demand, will not be able to compete with imported products that receive governmental support and enter Jordan without customs fees.

The food industry sector produces products worth JD150 million annually, with 2,132 facilities employing 41,000 workers and investments estimated at JD628 million, according to Petra.