Fiscal Reform and Public Financial Management Activity Quarterly Progress Report

The project aimed to improve the country's fiscal management and public financial management systems. The project was awarded to Deloitte Consulting, LLC, and was led by Chief of Party Kail Padgitt. During the first quarter, the project team focused on setting up the project and developing initial plans and deliverables. The team met with USAID and counterparts, including the Minister of Finance and the Ministry Secretary General, to discuss the project's approach and priorities. The project leadership also attended meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review the context of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and its influence on the project's activities. The project's key deliverables for the first quarter included the initial 90-day work plan, branding and marking plan, monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plan, and two monthly meeting reports. The project also developed a draft approach for integrating two advisors working in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) into the project. The project faced some challenges during the first quarter, including the Ramadan period and the decision by the Minister to not allow advisors who recently retired from the ministry to provide advice to the ministry. However, the project is working to overcome these issues and continue successful implementation of project activities. Component 1 of the project, Revenue Performance through Improved Tax Policy and Administration, focused on gathering information to develop a plan for future component activities. The team met with the Income Sales Tax Directorate (ISTD) Director-General and their senior management to discuss the initial component work plan and ensure consistency with ISTD's reform priorities. The team developed a note summarizing tax policy recommendations to be discussed with the Minister of Finance and the Director of ISTD, aiming to improve the equity of the tax system and increase tax revenue. The Component 1 team also prepared a tax administration data request to be presented to ISTD to gather information on the taxpayer registry, tax payments, and the ISTD website. In the next quarter, the team will present a note on initial tax administration revenue enhancement measures to the Director of ISTD, submit data requests to ISTD, and review the current registration system to make recommendations for improvement. The project's geographic coverage includes Amman and all 12 governorates in Jordan. The reporting period for the first quarter was from April 4, 2016, to June 30, 2016. The project's key facts include the start date of April 4, 2016, the name of the prime implementing partner as Deloitte Consulting, LLC, and the contract/agreement number as AID-OAA-I-12-00036-01. The project's implementation activities were impacted by the Ramadan period, the decision by the Minister to not allow advisors who recently retired from the ministry to provide advice to the ministry, and the decision to hire former employees of the bridge project to develop a transition plan. However, the project is working to overcome these issues and continue successful implementation of project activities.