‘Domestic revenues in 2015 below estimates’

AMMAN – Domestic revenues, tax and non-tax, are expected to fall short of government projections in 2015 and to be slightly lower than revenues generated in 2014, an official source told The Jordan Times Wednesday. 

However, the source, who requested to remain unnamed, said the difference amounted to around JD20-50 million, attributing the drop to decreasing income from taxes on services, goods and property sales. 

Budget planners expected tax revenues to reach JD4.370 billion in 2015 but then re-estimated them to drop by around JD140 million to JD4.231 billion, which was still higher by JD194 million than tax revenues achieved in 2014. 

Overall state income, including tax and non-tax revenues, was put at JD6.095 billion in 2015, up by JD64 million from the JD6.031 billion recorded in 2014. 

According to Finance Ministry figures, domestic revenues in the first 11 months of last year dropped by JD13.5 million to around JD5.286 billion, from JD5.299 billion recorded in the same period of 2014, at a rate of 0.3 per cent. 

Although revenues from the income tax went up by JD100 million until the end of November of last year, revenues from taxes on property sales and revenues from the sales tax on goods and services dropped by around JD44 million, according to the Ministry of Finance 

Hussam Abu Ali, the ministry’s assistant secretary general, said final figures on domestic revenues are still being prepared and will be published soon. 

He declined to confirm or deny the estimated drop.