(MENAFN) Jordan government plans to increase electricity prices following doubling taxes on cellphones as it seeks to fill a widening gap in budget deficit, risking a public outcry, AFP reported.
Jordan is trying to reduce a USD2 billion fiscal deficit this year and at the same time tackle cuts in Egyptian gas supplies.
The government intends to hike the price of electricity by 15 percent, having already doubled taxes on cellphones to 16 percent and to 24 percent on mobile telephone contracts.
A government decision in November to raise fuel prices, including household gas, by up to 53 percent, sparked a wave of nationwide protests.
Jordan is grappling with with little or no natural resources and an external debt of more than USD23 billion and unemployment of about 14 percent in the country of 6.8 million people where 70 percent of the population is under 30 and the minimum monthly wage of USD211.
In addition, Jordan is home to more than 500,000 Syrian refugees, and Amman has repeatedly complained they are burdening the country's scarce resources, while calling for international aid.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted Jordan USD385 million, part of a USD2.1 billion loan to help it weather regional instability.
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