No income or sales tax raise — premier

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Monday said that the government will not reduce the income exemptions to individuals or families, and will not raise sales tax.

He stressed that the government is committed to His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives to protect the middle- and low-income segments of Jordanians.

During his meeting with Senate President Faisal Fayez and Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, Mulki stressed that the amendments on the Income Tax Law will not affect single individuals or families whose income is below JD12,000 and JD24,000 respectively.

He said that the amendments are introduced to improve the efficiency of tax collection and harshen penalties for tax evasion. 

It also aims to ensure that all individuals whose yearly income exceeds JD12,000 and families with income more than JD24,000 are registered as tax payers.

The premiere stressed that “it’s not acceptable that non-Jordanians benefit from tax exemptions. This harms Jordanian economy and citizens, given that one third of the Kingdom’s population are non-Jordanians”.

He also said that the ceiling of the sales tax will not exceed 16 per cent, refuting all rumours about plans to raise the tax to 22 per cent.