AMMAN —
In the opening session of its extraordinary
summer session, Parliament began
debate of a draft law amending the General Sales Tax Law, according to the
Jordan News Agency, Petra.
اضافة اعلان
The meeting was
presided over by Parliament Speaker Abdul Karim Al-Dughmi and attended by Prime
Minister
Bisher Al-Khasawneh and other Cabinet officials.
It is the first
meeting for the elected 130-seat parliament after a short summer break. It
reconvened to legislate 12 bills, some considered significant for reviving
Jordan’s economic activity, which came nearly to a standstill following the
COVID-19 pandemic.
That includes an
investment promotion bill, which projects eased government procedures to
attract a flow of foreign capital needed to jumpstart the economy, envisaged to
grow by 2.1 percent this year.
The
economy-related bills are a pillar of an Economic Modernization Vision launched
last June under the supervision of His Majesty King Abdullah.
The vision will
be implemented in three phases over 10 years. It comprises 366 initiatives in
various sectors. They are part and parcel of eight economic growth drivers,
which envisage attaining a wide ranging sustainable growth and generating jobs,
according to a Royal Court statement.
During
Wednesday’s session, head of the House Economy and Investment Committee
Al-Khair Abu Sailek said the bill neither hikes taxes, nor imposes new ones. He
explained that it aims at addressing loopholes in the old law, adding that the
amendments were sought by private sector firms.
In a separate
development, deputies had a preliminary reading of the draft child rights law
for 2022, then referred it to more specialized lawmakers from the legal, women
and family affairs committees.
Referral was due
to the draft’s importance in protecting children and addressing issues related
to education, school dropout, kindergarten expansion, healthcare, and
protection from violence, according to a House statement.
Other lawmakers stressed
the need to “exercise diligence” in debating the bill’s articles and listen to
all points of view, in a bid to ensure that religion-based values are not
violated, the statement added.
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