Taxpayers owe gov’t JD800m at least — sources

AMMAN – Authorities are determined to recover unpaid taxes estimated at JD800 million owed by defaulters over the past years, a lawmaker said. 

Head of the House Financial Committee MP Yousef Qorneh told The Jordan Times Monday that the value of outstanding dues to the government owed by firms and individuals over the past few decades may reach up to JD3 billion.

However, the bulk of these dues have become bad debts and so a more realistic “collectable” figure is the estimated JD800 million. 

For example, Qorneh explained, some individual defaulters have passed away, while indebted firms also closed down during the period in question. 

In addition, there are cases that are still in the courts, with a portion likely to be settled through negotiations with tax authorities, the MP noted. 

On the government’s seriousness to recover the unpaid taxes, Qorneh cited recent government measures that give exemptions from fines to taxpayers who have not paid their dues over the past few years, adding the incentives meant to collect the funds. 

A government official, who preferred to remain unnamed, said the amount of unpaid dues by firms and individuals over the recent decades is estimated at JD1.7 billion, adding the value of debts owed by people who passed away is around JD300 million, while the value of debts disputed in courts could be around JD600 million. 

A large number of defaulting taxpayers passed away while there were no assets for them to be seized, the source said.  

The official said the services sector, particularly private clinics and solicitors, are Jordan’s largest tax evaders, adding that large firms in the Kingdom are committed to paying their tax dues as they follow proper auditing systems.