PM discusses budget minutiae with students

AMMAN — The 2020 budget will reconsider salaries and wages in the public sector that have not been increased for 10 years, and link them to clear standards to assess the performance of public employees, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Wednesday. 

Meeting with university students over the general budget and priorities of the government, Razzaz said that the budget aims at maintaining economic and financial stability and stimulating an economic growth that can lead to providing jobs for youth, increasing capital investments and improving services. 

The budget’s general goal over the next few years is to achieve an equation where local revenues cover the basic expenditures of the state, the premier said, adding that while this goal might not be reached within one or two years, there must be a clear plan to attain it, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, hosted by the University of Jordan's Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS), Razzaz stressed the need to decrease the budget deficit and not use grants and loans to cover current expenditures. 

The prime minister noted that 65 per cent of the expenditures in the budget are current spending, while capital expenditures that contribute to development and employment only constitute 14 per cent, highlighting the need to increase capital spending. 

Regarding the decrease in local revenues in the 2019 budget, Razzaz attributed this drop to large amounts of smuggled tobacco and tax evasion.

He also said that the government “faced a lot of negative opinions” after endorsing the Income Tax Law, which went into effect at the beginning of the year. 

The prime minister added that the law was essential to ensure stability in the tax structural system until balance is reached between expenditures and revenues according to a progressive tax system, as stipulated in the Constitution. 

In 2020, income tax is envisioned to “start achieving results” through collecting levies from included companies and individuals, the premier said, adding that the 2020 budget has “more realistic predictions and strategies” for combatting tax and customs evasions. 

As for rumours and their negative impact on society, Razzaz highlighted the responsibility of the government to provide the correct information at the right time.

For his part, CSS Director Zeid Iyadat commended the premier’s “unprecedented initiative” in discussing the budget as the government is preparing it and identifying priorities.