Public debt ratio “stable”, expenditure down, says ministry

Jordan’s public debt ratio to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was “stable” during the first quarter of this year, according to data released Monday by the Ministry of Finance.

The data showed that the total balance of public debt (budget and guaranteed) at the end of the first quarter of 2017 stood at JOD26.5 billion, equivalent to 95.1 per cent of GDP, compared with JOD26.1 billion at the end of 2016, or 95.1 per cent of GDP.

The first quarter of this year data saw a decrease in total public spending by JOD12 million, or 0.7 per cent, amounting to JOD1.75 billion, compared to 1.76 billion during the same period of 2016.

Current public expenditure also edged down by JOD5 million in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

The data also showed that domestic revenues rose by JOD51 million reaching JOD1.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, while the volume of external grants received to support the budget decreased to JOD50 million in the first quarter of this year compared to JOD130 million during the same period last year.

Sales tax revenues rose during the first quarter of this year to JOD706 million compared to JOD689 million in the same period last year, according to the data, which showed that non-tax revenues increased to JOD494 million in the first quarter of this year compared to JOD420 million for the same period last year.

While income tax revenues decreased to JOD208 million in the first quarter of this year compared with JOD247 million in the same period last year. Income tax revenues reflect the economic activity of the previous year.

The financial performance resulted in reducing the deficit in the general budget before grants during the first quarter of this year to JOD242 million against a deficit of JOD305 million in the same period last year, according to the data.

The budget deficit estimated for 2017 is about JOD700 million.

The data is available on the ministry’s website (www.mof.gov.jo).

Source: Fana News