ISTD performance improves

AMMAN — The Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) announced in press statement on Wednesday that a benchmarking review of the Jordanian tax system in 2013 shows improvement over the period 2010-2012 in at least 32 performance indicators. Published by ISTD, in collaboration with USAID’s Fiscal Reform II Project, the review points to improvement of Jordan’s tax system measured against international standards regarding tax policy, tax administration, and the structure and organisation of ISTD. It serves to be both a status report and a measurement tool of the tax system’s performance. “ISTD-administered tax revenues for 2013 increased by 8.8 per cent [from JD3.03 billion to JD3.3 billion] compared to 2012,” the study revealed. “Nevertheless, ISTD maintained a high productivity efficiency rate, keeping the cost of collection rate lower than the international benchmark.” According to the review, customer satisfaction improved, albeit at a slower pace, increasing from 66 per cent in 2012 to 67 per cent in 2013. To control tax arrears, the data base was refined, debts were prioritised, bad debts under certain amounts were written off, tax pre-assessments were more carefully raised, enforcement procedures were improved, and a sizeable amount of tax arrears was collected.