Ammon News - by Zain Khasawneh | The Jordan Times

AMMAN — The government began distributing cash payments this week under the third tranche of targeted fuel compensation to low- and medium-income Jordanians, Musa Tarawneh, Income and Sales Tax Department spokesperson, said Thursday.

The cash distribution will continue until October 26, Tarawneh told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

“This will be the third and final payment for this year’s cash compensation,” he noted.

Under the currently implemented cash support system, each individual from households that consist of six members or less, and whose income is less than JD800 a month or JD10,000 a year, is entitled to JD70 annually to compensate for the price increases.

Up until now, 85,000 families have received their compensation, the spokesperson said, highlighting that 400,000 families will benefit from this tranche.

The overall value of the direct cash compensation will cost the budget JD300 million, but it would cut the subsidy burden on the Treasury by JD500 million as the generalised subsidy system for fuel products used to cost the government around JD800 million, according to official figures.

According to Tarawneh, each family member received JD24 in the first and second rounds, and will get JD22 in the final tranche.

Public sector employees, civil and military retirees, Social Security Corporation pensioners and National Aid Fund beneficiaries receive the cash through their bank accounts, while private sector employees and the unemployed can collect the payments from the Housing Bank.

Laith Thnaibat, a computer teacher at an IT centre in Amman, said the cash payment was helpful when added to his “modest” income.

“The cash doesn’t cover fuel expenses in winter of course, but it helped with my monthly expenses,” the 30-year-old added.

“The distribution of the first two payments was a little messy at the bank, as everyone rushed to collect their money at the same time, causing complete chaos,” Thnaibat told The Jordan Times, noting that this time, the tax department set specific times for people to receive the payments which streamlined the process.

“We are only allowed to receive our payments at the bank between 2pm and 7pm,” he noted.