Ammon News - by Mohammad Ghazal | Jordan Times

AMMAN — Representatives of IT companies in Jordan said they will be forced to move their headquarters out of the Kingdom if a proposed income tax law is endorsed.

They said the increase in electricity prices this week and the government’s intention to increase IT companies’ income tax from 14 per cent to 25 per cent will be “disastrous”, making Jordan no longer an ICT hub.

“The situation is worrying and intolerable,” Fadi Qutaishat, vice president for sales and marketing at Globitel, said at a gathering of ICT firms on Thursday to discuss the latest issues and challenges facing the sector.

“The solution will be for all IT companies to act together and move their offices from Jordan to avoid the possible increase in income tax and other rising costs,” Qutaishat said.

“If the income tax law is endorsed, we should move outside Jordan,” he said, urging other IT companies to follow suit.

Abed Shamlawi, CEO of the ICT Association of Jordan (int@j), said a group of IT firms is already thinking of relocating their headquarters.

“The uncertainty in the sector, the repeated changes to the income tax law, the proposed tax increase and the recent rise in power prices are all hindrances to the sector, which contributes about 14 per cent to the gross domestic product annually,” Shamlawi told The Jordan Times following the meeting.

“The situation is serious... There is no strategic planning in general for improving the business environment and this will turn investors away,” he warned.

MenaITech CEO Bashar Hawamdeh agreed with Shamlawi, urging IT companies to take action.

“We should all maintain a strong position in rejecting the proposed rise in income tax. The situation of IT companies is already difficult,” he said.