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Protesters raise their hands and wave flags near members of the gendarmerie and security forces during a demonstration outside the prime minister's office in Amman, Jordan's capital, late on June 3, 2018.
Protesters raise their hands and wave flags near members of the gendarmerie and security forces during a demonstration outside the prime minister's office in Amman, Jordan's capital, late on June 3, 2018.
At the beginning of June, Jordan was shaken by a week of peaceful demonstrations against a project for a fiscal law which planned for a rise in taxes of between 5 % and 25 % for all persons with an annual salary of more than 8,000 dinars ($11,245). The demonstrators, whose quality of life had suffered greatly from the consequences of the Western war against Syria, demanded, and obtained, the resignation of the Prime Minister and the withdrawal of the project for law.
In reality, the Kingdom hardly had a choice - the plan was in conformity with the engagements taken in 2016 during the subscription for a loan from the International Monetary Fund. It had been rejected several times because of the war, and had only been presented when Parliament was closing. Its modification would have supposed a complete change of economic policy, which is not on the agenda. The only solution would be to obtain financial support from Saudi Arabia in order to reimburse the debt.
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