A group of top mobile phone distributors from across the Kingdom held a press conference on Sunday 28th July, 2013, at the Sheraton Hotel in Amman. Attended by a group of prominent local media representatives, the press conference was aimed at discussing the recent increase on the special tax imposed on mobile phones, based on law no. 64 for the year 2013, which was amended on 10th July, 2013. The press conference drew the participation of representatives from New Vision, the exclusive distributor of LG Electronics’ household appliances, home entertainment devices, ACs and mobile phones in Jordan; BCI, the Official distributor of Samsung mobiles r; i2, the exclusive Nokia distributor; Tab Communications & Technologies Company, the exclusive HTC distributor; Al Waseet Mobile Company, the exclusive Sony distributor; in addition to a representative of the top companies importing cellular devices. Prior to the press conference, the attendees had sent a letter to Jordan’s Prime Minister H.E. Abdullah Al Nsour, urging him to request that related parties reconsider the decision to raise the special tax on mobile phones, explaining that it will negatively impact distributors and users alike. The letter showed that doubling the special tax will lead to a rise in mobile phone prices, resulting in higher smuggling rates from other countries across the region into Jordan, which would deny Jordanian citizens from receiving maintenance warranties for their mobile phones. The new law will also significantly reduce mobile phone sales, decrease imports by 50%, bring exports to a standstill, and have a direct negative impact on the Kingdom’s tax revenues. The letter also highlighted that implementing this new law will negatively affect employment rates within the mobile phone industry as affected companies will be forced to downsize.
