Jordanians brace for tough times ahead amid tax changes under IMF deal
Under an agreement signed with the IMF, Jordan is seeking to raise additional revenues, raising fears about the worsening economic situation in the kingdom.
Jordanians are bracing themselves for tougher days ahead as the government seeks ways to raise additional revenues to support its treasury in 2018, in accordance with an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In an interview with the official news agency, Petra, on Sept. 13, King Abdullah II said that Jordanians are facing hardships due to economic challenges and that “the reality everyone has to understand is that no one is going to help us if we do not help ourselves first. We have to rely on ourselves, first and foremost.”
Local observers took this statement to mean two things: that the king supports the government’s policy under a controversial economic reform program with the IMF, and that the kingdom could no longer rely on grants coming from oil-rich Gulf countries.
