BEIRUT, Oct 5 (NNN-NNA) – Business community in Beirut threatened to take tougher measures, if the government decides to impose new taxes, in the 2020 budget.
“We refuse any taxes that may be added by the government because the country is suffering and it cannot take it anymore. Traders are going bankrupt and the growth is below zero percent,” Beirut’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture said.
Lebanon’s businesses urged the government to take the right reform measures instead of adding new taxes.
Lebanese Finance Minister, Ali Hassan Khalil, announced a few days ago that the government would not add new taxes in the 2020 budget.
However, a ministerial committee, headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, suggested to increase the value-added tax on imported goods, which comprise over 60 percent of Lebanese citizens’ needs, in addition to adding taxes on fuel and gasoline.
Lebanese traders have been suffering from dire economic conditions, with over 13 percent of shops having closed in Beirut, due to the economic slowdown and low purchasing power of Lebanese.– NNN-NNA
