AMMAN —
Finance Minister Mohamad Al-Ississ presented on Monday the 2023 draft budget
law to Parliament, estimating total expenditures at JD9.839 billion, an
increase of about JD766 million, or 8.4 percent, compared to 2022.
اضافة اعلان
This increase, he
said, is due to an increase of about JD153 million in allocations to the
military and public security bodies. Increases, totaling JD135 million, in the
salaries of civil service workers also played a role he said. Pensions of military
and civilian retirees will also increase, amounting to around
JD24 million, he
said.
Ississ also
attributed the increase in expenditures to the JD149-million increase in
interest payments, which will total JD1.577 billion, a JD149 million increase
from 2022. He blamed this on higher global interest rates as a result of
policies aimed at containing
global inflation.
The
aforementioned increases, he said, amount to around 82 percent of the total
current expenditures.
Operating
expenses for the Civil Service Bureau for the year 2023 amount to JD498
million, or 5 percent of total current expenditures. The health sector makes up
about 44 percent of those expenses, of which
medical supplies and medicines constitute the largest part.
In terms of
capital expenditures, they were estimated at JD1.592 billion for 2023, an
increase of JD104 million, or 7 percent, from 2022.
Allocations for
the Economic Modernization Vision projects and the public sector reform
accounted for 22 percent of capital expenditures, while projects for military
and public security and civil defense bodies accounted for 17 percent. Projects
for municipal development and decentralization projects accounted for 17
percent and allocations for ongoing projects accounted for about 44 percent of
the total capital expenditures.
The budget deficit after grants in 2023 will reach about JD1.862 billion.
Accordingly,
public expenditures were estimated at JD11.432 billion, an increase of JD871
million, or 8.2 percent over their level for 2022.
In terms of
revenues, local revenues for were estimated at JD8.767 billion, an increase of
JD829 million, or 10.4 percent, over 2022. Tax revenues will increase by about
JD696 million, or 11.7 percent. Meanwhile, non-tax revenues will increase by
about JD133 million, or 6.6 percent, and this growth in non-tax revenues is
exactly equal to the
growth rate of GDP at nominal prices for the year 2023.
External grants
were estimated at JD802 million in 2023, compared to JD796 million in 2022.
Public revenues meanwhile were estimated at JD9.569 billion for this year,
recording an increase of about JD835 million, or 9.6 percent over last year.
The budget
deficit after grants in 2023 will reach about JD1.862 billion.
Ississ added
that the initial budget deficit, which is considered one of the most important
indicators of financial sustainability and which compares domestic revenues to
public expenditures, excluding public debt service, will decline for the third
year in a row.
This year, he
said, it will reach about 2.9 percent of the GDP, and is expected to continue
its gradual decline to about 0.9 percent in 2025.
Ississ added
that public debt will decrease for the third year in a row by about 1.5 percent
in 2023, reaching 88.2 percent of GDP, and the percentage will continue to
gradually decline to reach 84.2 percent in 2025.
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