Khaberni - Finance Minister Abdel Hakim Shibli, on Thursday, said that the expected deficit in the draft public budget law for the fiscal year 2026 is 2.12 billion dinars, reducing to 4.6% of the gross domestic product.
He added that the total public budget amounts to 13 billion dinars, explaining that local revenues in the budget have risen to 10196 million dinars, due to increased economic growth, while current expenditures reached 11456 million dinars and capital expenditures 1600 million dinars.
The minister revealed that the cabinet would send the draft public budget law for 2026 to the House of Representatives today, Thursday, affirming that the draft law has not affected government support and the expansion in budget expenses came for a developmental scope.
The minister emphasized that "there are no new taxes in next year's budget."
He explained that the expected increase in revenues aligns with the expected economic growth in the budget for the year 2026, noting that about 750 million dinars of grants are anticipated in the budget for the year 2026, indicating that the level of grants has not changed next year despite its decline relative to local revenues, which shows an improvement in revenue collection.
Shibli stated that capital expenditures in the budget for next year have increased by about 230 million dinars compared to the 2025 budget.
The minister expects the real economic growth in the budget law project to continue rising from 2.7% in 2025 to 2.9% in 2026, and then to more than 3% in 2027 and 2028, due to the start of implementing major capital projects such as the national project for water desalination, the railway project, and gas exploration and transport projects, expecting inflation rates to remain low at around 2% in the years 2026, 2027, and 2028, which are the lowest at the regional level.
Based on revenue and expenditure assumptions, the total deficit in the 2026 budget is expected to decrease to around 2125 million dinars, or 4.6% of the gross domestic product, compared with the estimated deficit in 2025, which was 2.256 billion dinars or 5.2% of the gross domestic product.
The budget project includes groups of support for various sectors with a total value of 655 million dinars, including 124 million dinars for cancer insurance allowances, a program that covers about 4.1 million Jordanian citizens announced by the government this year, and 80 million dinars to support gas cylinders after raising from 63 million dinars, and 280 million dinars for social protection, and 170 million dinars to support bread and fodder. Additionally, allocations for purchasing medicines and medical supplies have been raised to about 135 million dinars.
The government has allocated, in the draft public budget law for the next year, 396 million dinars to implement the economic modernization vision programs, which has been ongoing since its launch at the end of 2022.
It indicated that capital expenditures in the budget project for next year have risen to 1.6 billion dinars, to cover financing of developmental projects of national importance, including the national water carrier project valued at 60 million dinars, and gas exploration in Risha worth 35 million dinars, in addition to raising support for the development and improvement of municipalities to 210 million dinars instead of 180 million dinars.
