2024-01-27 00:16:37
The Lebanese Parliament approves the 2024 budget… and taxes and fees have multiplied dozens of times
The Lebanese Parliament approved the draft 2024 budget prepared by the government after amendments made by the Finance and Budget Committee, after two days of observations and criticisms made by the representatives. The caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, responded to them on Friday, expressing high-level positions, especially towards the “Free Patriotic Movement” and its head, MP Gebran Bassil, against the backdrop of accusing the government’s decisions of being unconstitutional, and he concluded his speech by saying, “Elect a president and leave us.” (Leave us in peace).
After Mikati’s speech, Parliament discussed the budget, item by item, and referred it to a vote, then approved it and referred it to the government for issuance in a decree. It was described as the tax budget par excellence, and some representatives and economic experts considered that it lacked both economic and social visions, in addition to that it came without cutting off an account in violation of the law. Mikati admitted that it was “not ideal.”
Taxes were approved at high rates that reached tens of times, such as those related to municipal fees, registration papers, travel fees, and environmentally friendly cars, and those related to the tax due on bank accounts, fines on marine property owners, and raising the tax on the profits of financial companies. It also included exceptional fines of 17 percent for beneficiaries. From the non-individual banking platform, an exceptional tax was also imposed on merchants who benefited from the support provided by the Bank of Lebanon at a rate of ten percent of the volume of business, including oil companies.
Taxes are supposed to be paid according to the price determined by the Bank of Lebanon, and Mikati spoke about this matter, saying: “If we approve the budget at the exchange rate of 89 thousand (the black market price today), the banks will declare their bankruptcy tomorrow, so the price must be determined between the bank and And the banks.”
In his speech, Mikati spoke about those who believe that “his survival in the political scene depends on operating the machine of insults, lack of decency, and stirring up strife.” Thinking that he is luring us to respond to him in the same language. He missed that he did not deserve either praise or satire.
Mikati’s words sparked a debate between him and representatives from the Free Patriotic Movement, before Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri intervened and stopped the verbal altercation between the two parties.
Mikati pointed out that “some people are trying to divert attention from their direct responsibility, and the responsibility of the representatives in electing the President of the Republic, by accusing the government and me personally of confiscating the powers of His Excellency the President and overthrowing the Constitution, and this is something that cannot be tolerated, especially since I stress in every session of the Council of Ministers the necessity of electing… A new president.
He explained that the behavior he is adopting at this stage in particular “is consistent with what was decided by the highest constitutional authority in the country.” It is the Constitutional Council,” stressing that “any argument to disrupt the Council of Ministers is weak.”
In response to the words of the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, about the dispute between Mikati and Defense Minister Maurice Slim, against the backdrop of appointing a Chief of Staff and directing a letter to him, Mikati said: “I took the initiative, and I will continue to take the initiative, to direct the necessary letters to the ministers when necessary; To get them to carry out their duties; Because any negligence bears the consequences of the Prime Minister and exposes the government, the entire government, to accountability,” adding: “The irony is that in every crisis, we are accused of negligence, and demands are made to address the problems, and when we do our duty, we are accused of assaulting the powers of the President of the Republic.”
In response to his accusation of standing alongside Hezbollah in the war and defending it, Mikati said: “We heard accusations against the government of handing over the country’s decision-making to political parties, and this accusation is not true at all. Our firm and reiterated position focuses on adherence to all international resolutions and agreements, and we reiterate our demand for a ceasefire in Gaza. Because it is the mandatory entry point for all solutions.
Regarding the budget, Mikati acknowledged that it is “not ideal in normal circumstances, but it is a budget that is consistent with the economic, security, social and international conditions that Lebanon is going through.”
He recalled that “the 2019 budget amounted to more than 17.2 billion dollars, while in 2022 we managed the country with about 800 million dollars,” adding: “We were able to stop the collapse and began a serious recovery, and we have in account 36 in the Bank of Lebanon more than 100 thousand billion pounds in cash. We have more than a billion dollars, including 150 million in cash.
As for unifying the exchange rate, he said, “The trend is to avoid the previous large fluctuations, but there is no intention to stabilize the exchange rate, for which we have paid high prices as a result of it being tied rigidly to the US dollar.”
Mikati pointed out that “success in securing exchange rate stability, starting in May 2023, came as a result of the radical improvement in treasury revenues as a result of correcting customs duties and taxes and others. This matter allowed the sharp fluctuations to be curbed and the adoption of realistic and scientific rules in preparing the 2023 and 2024 budgets.” ».
He believed that “the great attack regarding taxes and fees has a lot of populism and profiteering, as there is no significant increase in taxes, and amending fees does not constitute the burden that some of the representatives spoke about,” adding that “raising fees on alcohol, smoking, and sugary substances has a social and health goal, and produces Among these substances are diseases that have become known and have significant health costs.”
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