The Jordanian Strategy Forum warned against exaggerating the Kingdom's budget estimates for 2019, according to a recent study by the forum. The study, entitled «The draft law of the general budget and draft law budgets of government units: under the microscope», the most important in the draft law of the general budget from all aspects, and separated all the items contained therein. 

The Jordan Strategies Forum analyzed the general budget estimates in light of the macroeconomic indicators on which the reliance was based and the assumptions on which they were based and their compatibility with the strategic objectives that Jordan seeks to achieve. 

The Jordan Strategy Forum concluded that the domestic revenue growth rate estimated in the 2019 budget of 14.8% is a highly overpriced growth rate as it exceeds the nominal GDP growth rate projected for 2019, which is expected to reach 4.8%. 

The Forum commented on the estimates of the increase in tax revenues, which will amount to 722 million dinars, or 15.9% of their level in 2018, that "in view of the sources of the expected increase it can be noted that the sales tax will increase in 2019 by 400 million dinars or 12.5% This figure indicates the continuation of the method of overestimating the sales tax revenues in 2019, which is estimated at about KD 3210 million less than the estimated amount in the budget of 2018 at KD 479 million or 13% Similar to estimates in previous years. " "Assuming there is no exaggeration, much of this increase can be attributed to the government's intention to increase the sales tax on services. This tax is expected to rise by 204 million dinars, or 38.5 percent, in 2019 from its re-estimate level in 2018 . » 

The survey showed that the modest performance of the real estate sector will be the dominant feature in 2019, due to the modest increase in the estimated revenues of real estate sales tax, which is expected to achieve a slight increase of KD 5 million or 4.8% Estimated in 2018. 

The study of the forum added that it is clear that the increase in tax revenues that the government is looking to achieve in 2019 is heading to the sales tax, where the share of this tax is about 55.4% of the total expected increase in revenue, where the Forum commented that this increase contradicts With a tendency for a government that focuses on the fact that the sales tax is unfair because it does not discriminate between those who can not and those who can not. This implies deepening the imbalance in the fairness of the tax system in the Kingdom and distancing it from the goal of strengthening social solidarity among the segments of the population. 

In the same context, the study commented on the increase in revenues from income tax in 2019 amounting to 245 million dinars, that the category «employees and employees with monthly wages» will bear the bulk of this increase, as the proceeds of this category in 2019 by 123 million dinars or An increase of 89% over the previous year, then contributing companies by KD 70 million or 9.2% over the previous year, and individuals by KD 52 million, or 96.7% more than their re-estimated level in 2018. 

The forum warned against overestimating the revenues of the National Electricity Company, saying that this increase in revenues of the National Electricity Company in 2019 may not be achieved as it was in 2018, where these revenues were estimated in the budget of 2018 by 159.2 million dinars, but by Revaluation figures did not exceed 2 million dinars. In this context, the Forum recommended that measures be taken to ensure that this is not repeated in 2019.

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