Online service enables citizens to check if they owe any taxes

AMMAN — The Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) has initiated a new electronic service which citizens and companies can use to find out whether they owe any taxes.

ISTD Spokesperson Musa Tarawneh said a search window was recently activated on http://www.istd.gov.jo/TaxpayerQuery/default.aspx and it helps users find out about unpaid dues online.

Meanwhile, taxpayers can still benefit from the 75 per cent exemptions on fines until the end of this month to settle their overdue taxes, according to Tarawneh, who noted that thousands of taxpayers have settled their overdue taxes since the beginning of the year to benefit from the exemption. 

On December 23, the Cabinet decided to waive fines on unpaid taxes and fees if taxpayers settled their unpaid dues to the tax department, the Jordan Customs Department, municipalities, public universities and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

Exemptions were 100 per cent in the first three months of the year, and went down to 75 per cent in the second quarter.

Starting July 1 and until the end of September, the fines will drop by 50 per cent, while the percentage will go down to 25 per cent between October and December.

The move is aimed at encouraging taxpayers to settle their dues and to generate more revenues for the Treasury, Tarawneh said in a previous statement. 

The government expects the incentives to generate between JD150 million and JD200 million in additional tax revenues. 

Official figures estimate the value of unpaid taxes owed by defaulters over the past years at JD800 million. 

Total tax revenues for this year are expected to reach JD3.8 billion.