Jordan PM rejects calls to nix tax bill
Protesters demand Mulki’s sacking as IMF-backed draft is put before parliament
Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki yesterday refused to scrap an IMFbacked tax reform bill that has sparked protests over price hikes, saying it was up to parliament to decide its fate.
Several thousand protesters staged vigils outside the cabinet office for two consecutive nights last week over the draft legislation, chanting anti-government slogans and urging King Abdullah to sack the prime minister.
“Sending the draft law does not mean parliament will agree to it or even agree on its articles. Parliament is its own master,” Mulki told reporters after meeting trade union leaders and lawmakers.
Austerity push
Unions say the tax bill, which is part of broader austerity measures recommended by the IMF, will worsen a decline in living standards.
Mulki said the IMF had completed its latest mission to the country and hoped the kingdom would conclude by mid-2019 most of the reforms crucial to getting the economy “back on track”. But critics say the measures will hurt the poor and accuse politicians of squandering public funds and corruption.
Parliament Speaker Atef Tarawneh said more than 80 deputies, a majority of the 130-member assembly, wanted the government to withdraw the tax bill. “We won’t submit to the dictates of the IMF,” he said after meeting Mulki, local media reported.
Unions representing state and private sector employees said the government had caved in to IMF demands.