Omar Razzaz was sworn in as Jordan's new prime minister on June 15 after a week of nationwide protests against a controversial income tax bill that ended in the dismissal of the government of Hani Al-Mulki. Three months later, Razzaz is now facing harsh criticism over a new draft of the same law, unveiled Sept. 11 following intense deliberations with the International Monetary Fund.

Passing a new income tax law that expands tax brackets and controls tax evasion is part of a fiscal reform program with the IMF intended to offset Jordan’s budget deficit and facilitate foreign loans to support the state treasury.

Razzaz was quoted by the Jordan Times on Sept. 11 as saying, “The amended tax law was not imposed by anyone or any entity, whether from inside Jordan or outside.” He went on, “It is not easy to sell the law to the public in light of the current difficult economic conditions and we stress that it [will affect] well-to-do companies and individuals.”

The draft law seeks to generate 280 million Jordanian dinars ($395 million) in additional revenues in 2019, of which 180 million dinars ($253 million) will be collected as a result of expanding the tax base, while the rest will come from containing tax evasion. But critics wasted no time in pointing to similarities between the proposed draft and the one that Mulki’s government had referred to the parliament in May.