Parliamentary committee begins meetings over new income tax law

AMMAN — The Lower House’s Economy and Investment Committee on Sunday discussed the 2018 amendments to the Income Tax Law with chambers of commerce in the presence of ministers of finance and industry and trade.

The discussion was part of a series of meeting the committee will hold with various segments of the society over the bill, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Head of the panel Khair Abu Saileik said that MPs will examine all notes they receive over the law and will take them into consideration, Petra said.

For their part, presidents of the chambers of commerce underlined the need for a “well-defined tool for measurement of tax evasion”, voicing support for the planned nationwide dialogue over the bill, Petra said.

During another meeting earlier in the day with Deputy Prime Minister Rajaei Muasher and the government’s economic team, Abu Saileik said that His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives to the government to protect the middle class and the constitutional provisions on taxation will be the two major factors that the committee will take into consideration while examining the new law.

According to Article 111 of the Constitution, “No tax or duty may be imposed except by law. Taxes and duties shall not include the various kinds of fees which the Treasury charges in respect of services rendered to members of the public by Government Departments or in consideration of benefits accruing to them from the State Domain. In imposing taxes, the Government shall be guided by the principles of progressive taxation, coupled with the attainment of equality and social justice, provided that taxation shall not exceed the capacity of tax-payers or the State’s requirements for funds.”

Muasher said that the new law does not aim at collecting money from citizens but at addressing tax evasion and enhancing the efficiency of the taxation system, Petra said.