(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — The Consumer Protection Society (CPS) on Tuesday called on the government to reduce products' prices and sales taxes, stating that there are several alternative revenue sources for the country's Treasury other than the "consumers' pockets".
"The consumers' societies in other countries are part of the decision-making process and their opinions are sometimes binding but here, we feel like we are only a piece of 'accessory' for decoration," CPS Spokesperson Sahem Abbadi told The Jordan Times on Wednesday, noting "all former governments relied on taxes to settle their debts, but now is the time for the new government to adopt a new economic approach".
Abbadi noted that the increased prices consumers have to pay and the constantly rising taxes "never reflected a higher quality or better services", but were only a "mere levying approach".
On reducing the sales tax, which — according to official statistics — grants the country's Treasury around $3 billion annually, Abbadi claimed that reducing the tax will grant more growth and revenues.
"When the cost is less on traders and consumers, the sell-off will increase, which eventually revives the economy and decreases the recession," he said, adding that "a flowing river is better than a stagnant ocean".
The official also referred to the import of several goods already produced locally, stressing that "this only moves the hard currency out of the country".
"Instead of paying to import basic foodsuffs, this money could be invested in building factories that provide markets with quality local products, while at the same time fighting unemployment and offering job opportunities," Abbadi explained.
He also called for ending the farmers' suffering through implementing tax reforms on the agricultural sector, which he described as "Jordan's food basket" and the "safe haven" for the country's market.
For economist Mazen Irsheid, ensuring the country's Treasury balance is not only based on increasing revenues but more importantly, on cutting expenditures.
"Jordan's large number of public sector employees ranks it amongst the top ten countries on the rates of public sector employment, which only contribute to flabby and bureaucratic governmental bodies," Irsheid told The Jordan Times, adding "the several institutions and ministries can be merged together so as to reduce operational costs, which can then be invested in productive projects and in supporting the private sector".
He also stressed the necessity of dealing with cases of tax evasion and corruption, which would "bring back the Treasury's stolen money".
For his part, economist Wajdi Makhamreh criticised the "failure" of previous economic teams that only relied on "levying", describing it as "the bankrupt's approach".
He stressed that a fair taxation system of both sales tax and income tax would improve the economic situation. "The sales tax should decrease not to affect the poor, while the income tax from the rich would cover up for the difference," he told The Jordan Times, adding "encouraging investments in the various sectors like industry and tourism is the country's winning card for increasing revenues".
Abbadi noted that the CPS has conducted several studies and presented recommendations to the government, yet he claimed that they were all "neglected".
"We offer the government this service for free while many countries pay money for researchers to provide them with research-based solutions and recommendations," Abbadi said, adding: "We want to sit with the government on the same table to find a joint solution to the crisis our country is going through instead of citizens alone bearing the entire burden."
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