Jordan releases revised tax law for public review months after mass protests

Jordanian authorities have released an amended version of a controversial tax law, which sparked mass protests and forced the prime minister to resign earlier this year.

The official Petra news agency announced on Tuesday a copy of the draft law had been posted online for the public to submit comments on the legislation.

"The bill comes to achieve social justice and solidarity, and not to impose any additional tax on the poor and low-income segments," the state-run outlet said.

"The government will take suggestions and comments about the draft law into consideration, before endorsing it," the agency added.

The contested tax law which brought thousands of Jordanians to the streets in June and led to Prime Minister Hani Mulki stepping down.

The scrapped law increased taxes on employees by at least five percent, and on companies by between 20 and 40 percent.

Jordan, a mostly desert kingdom with few resources, has seen prices of several basic goods and services like bread, fuel and electricity steadily rise over the past year.

The measures were part of a series of economic reforms since Amman secured a $723-million three-year credit line from the IMF in 2016.

The loan, intended to support economic and financial reforms, has the long-term objective of reducing Jordan's public debt from about 94 percent of GDP to 77 percent by 2021.