It is by no means easy in a country like Jordan to be in the minority in terms of opinion. This has been my experience with my view on the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan.

A debate took place on Malan, an Internet-based TV show, two weeks ago, on whether the middle class in Jordan grew or shrunk. Gauging the welfare of the middle class does not only pinpoint the success and failure of “economic reforms”, it is also a forward indicator

I read recently that in his State of the Union Address, today, President Barack Obama will attempt to convince the US Congress to increase taxes on the very rich (top 1 per cent of taxpayers) and the largest financial firms to provide tax cuts for the middle class and working fam

As Jordan launched yet another attempt at fixing its tax system through the recently passed piece of tax law, one comes to question the reason for so many changes of tax legislation. Social scientists and common sense dictate that taxes and laws and regulations pertaining to the

The Department of Statistics recently announced that the economy grew by 3.1 per cent in real terms in the third quarter of 2014 relative to the same period in 2013.  As usual, the department gave the sources of growth; reading them is extremely interesting and analysing th

The government has been calling upon its friends and allies to donate more aid fund to help improve the economic situation in the country. The justification is the need to avoid having vulnerable groups, especially the youth, attracted by extremist groups like IS. The request f

The term “rentier state” had been used to describe countries that have natural resources, such as oil, and distribute the wealth derived from oil revenues to people according to their perceived loyalty. However, a state does not need to be rich in natural resources t

Jordan is a country whose business entities are primarily (99.6 per cent) made up of micro, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Manufacturing SMEs are currently in a tough position, as energy, fees and taxes continue to rise. Adding to this the flood of competition f

The 2015 draft budget gives little hope for next year and, for the few that bother to read it carefully, is a manuscript for a failed movie.