selected business news
"Jordan budget gap shrinks on spending curbs "
Posted July 23, 2010 by Lindsay Roberts
In the first five months of 2010, Jordan’s budget deficit more than halved, shrinking to 137 million dinars from 348.3 million dinars in the same period last year. A majority of the savings came from a government freeze on non-essential capital spending which brought a 45% drop in capital expenditure. Austerity measures decreased the total expenditure 8.3%, following a record budget deficit last year that amounted to 9% of its GDP. Meanwhile, the government is proposing major infrastructure projects through private-public partnerships that aim to attract foreign investment. The government has also raised taxes to offset low revenues and imposed major personal tax breaks to encourage investment and domestic consumption in the hope that improving the business climate will increase capital inflows.
