JORDAN'S PARLIAMENT REJECTS MINOR TAX MEASURE IN A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001393 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2019 TAGS: PGOV ECON KDEM JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S PARLIAMENT REJECTS MINOR TAX MEASURE IN A SYMBOLIC CHALLENGE TO THE GOVERNMENT REF: A. AMMAN 1339 ¶B. AMMAN 1313 ¶C. AMMAN 857 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Jordan's parliament rejected a minor tax-related measure on June 17 in an assertion of independence from the cabinet and Lower House Speaker Abdulhadi Al-Majali, who had listed the measure as a key priority. Majali's rivals led the charge in an effort to embarrass him and demonstrate the ineffectiveness of his newly established political party (Ref B). While MPs are keen to exert some authority, it is likely that they will fall back into line with the cabinet and the speaker when voting on more important matters. End Summary. Culture Tax Amendments Rejected -------------- ¶2. (C) On June 17, Jordan's parliament voted 51-25 (with 34 absent) to reject a law which would have annulled an existing five percent tax on media advertising in a largely symbolic protest. During debate on the measure, deputies chided the cabinet for pandering to the media. Revenues from the tax are supposed to go to a "cultural fund" to promote the arts. The government, however, has refrained from collecting the tax and has yet to organize the cultural fund more than a year after the law went into effect. ¶3. (C) The annulment was originally floated by Lower House Speaker Abdulhadi Al-Majali, who proposed the measure in April (Ref C). Fifty-eight deputies, primarily those from Majali's National Trend bloc, signed a petition supporting annulment of the tax in recognition of "financial pressures on the industry." Many did so reluctantly, however, seeing the move as a blatant attempt by Majali to curry favor with media barons prior to the launch of his own political party (Ref B). In the end, most of those fifty-eight (including Majali himself) failed to show up for the vote on the bill they had requested. ¶4. (C) Majali's rivals in parliament came together to reject the law in a move to embarrass the speaker and demonstrate the frailty of his newly-formed National Trend Party. Sa'ad Srour, a tribal MP and potential competitor for the speaker's job in the upcoming November leadership elections, led the charge. MPs from both the opposition and Majali's own party hinted to us that the minor rebellion on the "culture tax" was only the beginning of a larger move to assert their independence and protest what they see as lack of respect from Majali and the cabinet. Many believe that Majali and the cabinet have conspired to present parliament with a series of faits accompli in the extraordinary session on the assumption that they can bully legislators into passing laws without changes. Critics and Media Pounce -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Media commentators and bloggers characterized parliament's move as evidence of the body's hypocrisy and irrelevance. Many pointed out that thirty percent of MPs failed to even attend the actual vote, and noted that parliament in refusing to pass the bill, parliament had rejected exactly what it had requested in an earlier session. The renewed criticism of parliament comes on the heels of a series of polls suggesting that few Jordanians believe the legislature is effective in looking out for their interests (septel). ¶6. (SBU) Editors of Jordan's major newspapers announced on June 18, the day after the vote, a boycott of parliament's extraordinary session. The Jordan Press Association released a statement condemning the "vengeful" nature of the debate, in which some MPs accused media outlets of being under the cabinet's control. Columnists painted parliament's action as revenge for prominent press coverage of parliament's low ratings in recent polls. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Contacts in parliament have grown weary of rubber stamping the cabinet's agenda and serving as a front for Majali's personal ambitions. Rejection of the "culture tax" was a harmless way of putting the cabinet and the speaker on notice, since the tax was not being collected at any rate. The resulting backlash in the media has been worse than many MPs expected, however. The remainder of parliament's agenda for the extraordinary session deals with far more weighty AMMAN 00001393 002 OF 002 matters, and rejection of reforms in the tax code, penal system, or social security administration would have wider reaching national consequences. While parliamentarians are signaling a need to assert their independence, it remains to be seen whether they are willing to do so by rejecting policies that truly matter. As a result of this episode, parliament has antagonized the media over a relatively minor legislative matter. Beecroft