Tax evaders owe the Jordanian treasury JD280 million ($394 million), a government official said on Wednesday.
The director of the Income Tax Department, Mohammad Adeinat, told lawmakers who were discussing the draft income tax law that 24,000 tax evasion cases were being handled by the Income Tax Appeals Court, reported the Jordan Times.
He urged the legislators to approve an article included in the draft law whereby a 1.5 percent fine on the amount of tax owed would be levied against people charged with tax evasion.
Citing lawmakers, the paper said that the $394 million were enough to cover the kingdom's budget deficit, or seven percent of the budget before the inclusion of foreign assistance.
Some deputies claimed that delays in court procedures could be among the factors holding up the trials of tax evaders.
Nevertheless, the deputies rejected a recommendation by the House Finance Committee to require payment of a 25 percent deposit against the amount of income tax due from those charged with tax evasion in the event they wanted to appeal their case in court.
Minister of Finance Michel Marto urged the deputies to approve different articles which were included in the draft law to prevent tax evasion, the paper said.
Marto said ministry officials assigned to visit private firms to investigate cases of alleged tax evasion had in many cases been mistreated by company employees – Albawaba.com
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