Lebanon's 2024 Budget: Proposed extraordinary tax targets beneficiaries of BDL's support

Report by Remy Derbass, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

In the 2024 budget, limited proposals address holding those responsible for embezzling state funds accountable in one way or another.

One of the approved proposals involves imposing an exceptional tax on all traders, institutions, and oil companies that benefited from the support provided by the Banque du Liban (BDL) during the tenure of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government for the purchase of goods in 2019.

The approved tax rate for these entities is set at 10% of the total funds they benefited from. The Democratic Gathering led the initiative, as it was initially withdrawn from the budget during the financial committee's deliberations.

However, the deputies of the bloc reinstated it during a session for further discussion on Friday.

The proposal was reintroduced into the budget, with its legal formulation adjusted within the public chamber. It was then presented for voting, receiving approval from most parliamentary blocs and MPs.

According to sources from the Democratic Gathering, as forwarded to the Finance and Budget Committee, the proposal suggested placing the tax within the Deposits Recovery Fund. This decision was based on the argument that the funds disbursed by the decision of Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government belonged to the depositors, according to the bloc's sources.

Nevertheless, this attempt failed.

The second and more critical aspect of this battle is for the BDL to provide the government with numbers and amounts of the support disbursed. This includes disclosing the names of companies, individuals, and institutions that benefited from this support to facilitate the collection of the proposed tax.

The crucial factor lies in the implementation of these measures.