Jordan’s Finance Ministry has rejected proposals from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to increase sales and other taxes, according to a report.

It has presented a package of alternative measures to increase revenues and control spending, said the Jordan Times report.

“The IMF’s executive board had agreed to complete the fifth review of Jordan’s performance under a three-year programme supported by a Stand-By Agreement (SBA),” Umayya Toucan, the Finance Minister was quoted as saying, at the briefing of the Cabinet on the economic and fiscal reform programme implemented in co-operation with the IMF.

The approval of the IMF to complete the fifth review came shortly after the international rating agency Standard & Poor's upgraded the credit outlook for Jordan from negative to stable, pointing out that the draft 2015 state budget law referred to Parliament early last week kept expenditures under control, pursuing a consistent austerity policy, he said.

Meanwhile, the completion of the fifth review was a success attributed to the fiscal reforms the government has made, resulting in higher domestic revenues and tighter spending without adding any burdens or taxes on citizens last year, the minister said.

According to Petra, as the fifth review was completed, the IMF has released a total of JD129 million ($181.2 million) under the SBA, he added.