AMMAN — Jordanians should expect four more
fuel price hikes in the coming months,
Minister of Interior Mazen Al-Faraya
said Tuesday, according to Al-Mamlaka TV.
اضافة اعلان
Faraya’s comment Tuesday came as parliament’s Energy
Committee urged the government to reconsider a flat tax levied on oil
derivatives to stem the hike in the fuel prices and help citizens cope with the
increases, Al-Mamlaka said in another report.
But the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources,
Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, said that the ministry has no intention to reduce, or cut
the tax at present.
Faraya told a meeting with a group of investors at
Al-Hassan Industrial Estate that Jordanians “are going to witness at least four
hikes on fuel prices in the upcoming months”.
He said Jordan has several agreements with important
economies worldwide, but that local investors are not taking advantage of these
accords.
He pointed out that the government seeks to attract
investors and foreign capital as well as sign agreements. He added that the
state also addresses and fixes “problems which investors may face”.
Faraya said the government was also working to amend
conditions resulting from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war
on the Ukraine.
“The government will not stop supporting those who
are most effected,” he emphasized.
Faraya said Jordan offers residency permits and
citizenship to investors, noting that more than 60 people received Jordanian
citizenship in the past seven months through their investment portfolios.
Separately, the
Parliamentary Energy Committee called on the government to reconsider the fixed tax on oil derivatives.
The committee said in a meeting Tuesday that “a
draft law must be prepared and submitted to parliament to nationalize the
energy sector”.
It urged the government to encourage the use of
electric cars, and to reconsider a tax imposed on hybrid cars.
The committee pointed out that there must be
instructions to prohibit the use government vehicles, which engine exceed
2,000cc, and to standardize a bid for the purchase of oil derivatives for the
government sector.
The committee also demanded the abolition of a new
tax levied from citizens who use renewable energy, as well as including the
entire household sector with the electricity subsidies.
But Kharabsheh, the minister of energy, said he has
no intention of reviewing a cut-off on the fuel tax at the present time and
within the current circumstances, suggesting that it will be reviewed in the
future, according to Jo24.
Kharabsheh explained that the government subsidizes
a litre of diesel fuel for JD0.13, as it is sold for JD0.68, while the price
per litre in the international market is JD0.81. He said money generated from
gasoline 90 and 95 octane covers the diesel subsidy.
He said the consumption of 95 octane gasoline is estimated
at only 4 percent of the total fuel sold in the market, while 90 octane
gasoline stands at 40 percent. The remainder, he added, is diesel, which has
the highest consumption rate in the Kingdom.
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