Jordan's Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz said that the draft budget approved in 2020 is aimed at stimulating the economic growth in order to create jobs and reduce the high unemployment rate.
"Maintaining the economic and financial stability and not imposing any new taxes inspired by the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund was the main driver of the draft budget approved by the Council of Ministers," al-Razzaz said.
The Jordanian government's adoption of IMF-recommended taxes sparked in 2018 the biggest protests in years.
Al-Razzaz stressed that "Jordan’s approach now is not to raise taxes, but to achieve economic growth that leads to jobs for youth."
The low growth and inadequate job creation are the two main problems for the kingdom, which is working to keep the fiscal discipline aimed at containing a public debt at a record of 94% of the GDP.
It is worth mentioning, that the 2020 budget deficit is expected to double to about 1.3 billion dinars ($1.8 billion), with an expensive round of wage increases pledged by al-Razzaz next year to the public sector employees.
Source (Al-Dustour Newspaper-Jordan, Edited)
