Amman: The Lower House of Parliament took a significant step on Wednesday by forwarding the draft general budget law for the fiscal year 2024 to its parliamentary finance committee.
This move signals the commencement of a process wherein the committee will engage in comprehensive discussions with relevant ministries, government units, and institutions over the budget bill.
Subsequently, the committee will formulate recommendations that will be presented to the House, initiating a rigorous examination and debate of the draft among the representatives.
Following a thorough appraisal of the state’s general budget address, delivered by Minister of Finance, Muhammad Ississ, the members of the Lower House embarked on an initial deliberation of the budget, punctuated by astute observations and calls for measures aimed at the welfare of the citizenry.
The representatives underscored the urgency of reforming the university student funding system, advocating for a twofold increase in its allocations to ensure equit
able access to education for all eligible students.
They emphasized the need for a structured approach to encompass all qualifying students within the university student support fund’s grants and loans framework.
In addition, there was a call for augmenting allocations to the Ministries of Education and Health, especially in light of the substantial portion of the education budget allocated to salaries, ranging between 85 to 90 percent.
The representatives commended certain favorable aspects of the draft budget law, such as its capacity to maintain stable inflation levels and robust tax collection, notwithstanding the challenging economic climate and surrounding circumstances.
They stressed the imperative of raising the remuneration of civilian and military employees and retirees.
Nonetheless, a degree of disappointment was expressed regarding the draft budget law’s reliance on the International Monetary Fund, given the sizable budget deficit of approximately 2.8 billion dinars.
A significant inquiry ar
ose concerning the concealment of internal debt within the General Budget, alongside outstanding debts owed to various government institutions.
Debts of substantial magnitude, including those of the Health Insurance Fund (420 million dinars), universities (400 million dinars), and the Social Security Investment Fund (8.3 billion dinars), were excluded from the budget, along with electricity and water debts, the lawmakers said.
Further, there was a compelling argument for reconsidering the sales tax structure, which was perceived as exacerbating economic inequality. The government was urged to exert pressure on banks to curtail interest rates, with a view to mitigating the financial strain on citizens, a measure that could potentially lead to reduced prices for essential foodstuffs and commodities.
The representatives stressed the necessity of expanding the concept of social protection to encompass retirees, extending beyond the purview of the Ministry of Social Development’s existing programs.
The draft b
udget law for 2024 delineated public revenues amounting to approximately 10.3 billion dinars, reflecting an 8.9 percent increase from the previous year.
Notably, the draft budget law demonstrated a commendable upswing in domestic revenues, soaring to 9.6 billion dinars, marking a 10 percent increment over 2023 levels.
This surge was predominantly driven by a 10.2 percent uptick in tax revenues, culminating in 7.2 billion dinars, without any imposition of new taxes or an augmentation of existing ones.
Projections suggest that external grants will reach 724 million dinars, while current expenditures are estimated at around 10.6 billion dinars, with capital expenditures amounting to approximately 1.7 billion dinars, resulting in a total public expenditure of 12.37 billion dinars.
Furthermore, the draft law included provisions for financial allocations to bolster strategic food commodities and support cooking gas cylinder accessibility, along with an augmentation of national aid allocations, aimed at expandin
g the coverage to a greater number of eligible families.
In view of the global escalation in interest rates, precipitated by the US Federal Reserve’s inflation control policy, the draft budget law allocated additional resources to service the public debt, which had surged in response to the heightened interest rates.
With regard to capital expenditures, there was a remarkable elevation of approximately 11.8 percent from the previous year, reaching an unprecedented 1.729 billion dinars.
This historic high was underpinned by the allocation of 20.2 percent of these expenditures to projects aligned with the economic modernization vision and the public sector modernization roadmap.
Meanwhile, projects affiliated with the military apparatus and security forces constituted 16.9 percent of capital expenditures, with municipal development, decentralization projects, and other projects making up the remaining 45 percent.
Source: Jordan News Agency