Income tax tour meets more resistance in Jerash, Ajloun

AMMAN — The Cabinet members’ tour to discuss the new income tax law around the country has not been received very well in Tafileh and Maan, and so remains the case on Wednesday in Jerash and Ajloun, where Cabinet members were asked to leave before the discussion even started, according to citizens and various news outlets.

In Ajloun, citizens refused to give the delegate space to begin the session, and the ministers left the premises within 20 minutes of their arrival. In Jerash, however, some citizens attempted to welcome the Cabinet members, but the chants and refusals of their fellow citizens to hear the ministers was the louder of the two which eventually resulted in the officials leaving.

Ajloun Governor Ali Majali’s efforts to convince attendees to give the ministers a chance to speak about the bill failed, at which point he finished the gathering.

Citizens residing in both governorates told The Jordan Times that “no effective discussion took place” in the sessions that were described by them as “chaotic” and “crowded”.

In a news’ report that was later confirmed to The Jordan Times by the Public Security Directorate, the situation was “intense” enough that a citizen passed out during Jerash’s session.

Omar Jaran, a shop owner in Jerash, told The Jordan Times, “people took the day off to go to the session. They said that their refusal needed to be heard and that now is the perfect time to do so”.

“There was more than usual traffic downtown, it looked as if the whole town was out to protest the law,” said one of his workers who was there before the ministers’ arrival.

In Ajloun, citizens reported to The Jordan Times that they had been prepared since Tuesday night for their response to the session. “Most of the governorate was set on asking the ministers to leave,” said Hadi Qudah, a citizen residing there.

In addition to their rejection of the income tax law, Ajloun citizens were “offended that only certain people were invited to the discussion”, which is why they showed up unannounced.

Women were equal participants in the two sessions. In a video circulating around social media, a woman in Jerash took the liberty of taking the stage to ask the ministers to leave. In Ajloun, female citizens told The Jordan Times that their bosses and families asked them to attend the session as well, because “it showed that both sexes and all different classes strongly reject the tax law”.