Khaled Abu Shakra wrote in “Nidaa Al-Watan”:
After a long wait, the 2022 draft budget was born with exceptional powers for the Ministry of Finance to determine the exchange rate. A privilege that allows it to dispose of the “piece” so it keeps the payment of deposits in banks not covered by the circulars at 1,500 pounds, and it depends on a price ranging between 15 and 20 thousand pounds for the collection of fees and taxes. This duplicity, which keeps the Minister of Finance at a discretion to determine the exchange rate, will not inevitably serve the interest of the economy and the citizens.
The size of the budget touches 50 thousand billion pounds, compared to 18.7 thousand billion pounds for the year 2021. The difference estimated at 30.7 thousand billion will come mainly from the increase in tax revenues. The latter increased its estimate from 10.4 thousand billion pounds in the 2021 draft budget to 33.5 thousand billion pounds in the current draft budget.
Social spending declines
The increases extended to various fields, to cover the large camouflaged increases in expenditures. Although it was not placed in the category of raising the value of taxes and fees in many areas, it differed according to the evaluation of the exchange rate. However, the zodiacs have received many transactions and services, including, but not limited to, the increase in the fees for issuing a passport to 600,000 Syrian pounds for a period of 5 years and 1 million pounds for ten years. If the absence of investment expenditures from the budget is understandable, its absence of social and health spending raises many question marks. Especially since the international donors stress on giving priority to the social issue, given the extremely difficult conditions that Lebanon is going through.
doubling the salaries
The budget did not include any amendment to the value of salaries and wages, but it gave in return in Article (135) “social assistance to employees of public administrations.” Where all public administration employees, regardless of their job titles (employees – contractors – wage earners – military and security agencies – judges – the educational corps of all categories, and retirees) were given an amount equal to the basis of the monthly salary of public administration employees and 50 percent of the retirement pension for one year. Which means doubling wages. Which is estimated to constitute regarding 24 thousand billion pounds of the volume of expenditures.
“Farewell” old deposits
Including the budget in Article (132) assurances to owners of new deposits in foreign currency by obligating banks to pay them in the same manner in which they were deposited, and exempting the latter from paying taxes on the interests of new deposits for a period of 5 years in Article (96), carrying with it the legislation of burglary on old deposits The budget was formed before October 17, 2019. The budget was not satisfied with suggesting “bitter”, but re-emphasized it in Article (133), which stipulates “giving the government permission to set a conversion rate for foreign currencies into the Lebanese pound in order to collect taxes and fees,” which will also be calculated. On deposits held in dollars.
On the other hand, the budget in Article (115) imposed a step aimed in form at reducing the cash economy, and at strengthening the role of banks that lack legitimacy in content, obligatory adoption of settlement with banks in order to pay the salaries of employees in all institutions and companies, managers and members. However, this step, despite its importance, did not take into account the banks’ placing restrictions on transfers from corporate accounts to settlement accounts, and their requirement to bring cash. In order to encourage “localisation,” the draft budget exempted settlement transactions from the financial stamp fee, and set the maximum amount that banks collect at 5,000 Lebanese pounds.
In preparation for the bankruptcy of banks and the restructuring of the sector?
Raising the value of the deposit guarantee in Article (118) of the budget project from 75 million pounds to 600 million pounds. The project is supposed to take into account the possibility of some banks going bankrupt and liquidating their deposits. It was also remarkable that the budget included in Article (95) “Exempting merging companies from income tax on profits for a limited period and within conditions. As the merging companies whose value of the fixed physical assets in each of them on the date of the merger is not less than 15 billion pounds, benefit from a discount on the entire income tax on profits. This is what the experts attributed to giving facilities to banks in order to start the merger process.”
State assets and real estate are also under consideration
Article 126 stipulates a request from departments, public institutions, and joint and mixed projects to provide the Ministry of Finance with the information it owns regarding the state’s real estate and non-real estate assets. This is what was understood as a field evaluation, in preparation for sale or privatization.
An advance for electricity… and a “beggar” of civil defense diesel from the army
Electricity advances, in turn, increased from 1,500 billion pounds annually to 5,250 billion pounds. The draft budget stipulated in Article (13) to give the EDL a long-term advance to pay the fuel deficit, interest and loan installments for the benefit of EDL. Article (14) stipulates the possibility of securing diesel for civil defense from the army.
Big absent social assistance
At a time when hundreds of thousands of Lebanese families are waiting for the promised social assistance (a financing card of 559 million dollars for regarding 500,000 families), Article 15 of the draft budget stipulated the distribution of social aid worth 150 billion pounds, equivalent to 6.5 million dollars, according to the exchange rate of the exchange platform. . A figure that is incapable of helping to secure the most basic requirements of life for 80 percent of families who are below the poverty line.
On a parallel line, and instead of fortifying the last stronghold of social resilience for a third of the Lebanese people, represented by the guarantee, Article (124) stipulates that all debts and interests due to the National Social Security Fund be paid by the state until the end of 2021 in equal parts for a period of 10 years, provided that the installments begin before the end of a month September of this year. And if we consider that the accumulated debts of the state are regarding 5,000 billion, then each year the guarantee will receive 500 billion liras. This number, which today is not worth more than 22 million dollars, may no longer be worth 10 million dollars at the number of 10th batch. Is this how the guarantee is preserved?
in the tax bracket
Initial reading shows that the draft budget included:
Raising the tax on offshore companies annually from 1.5 million pounds to 10 million pounds.
– Increase the quota on the transition fee.
Exempting hybrid cars and electricity from customs.
– 3 percent lump sum fee on real estate registration.
Multiplying the rental value by 48 times, following it was 12 times.
– In addition to these taxes, Article (84) stipulates that fees are collected in political negotiation departments and consulates in US dollars or in the currency of the country in which they are located.
Article (81) imposed a customs duty of 10% for a period of 7 years on imported goods and merchandise, if similar ones were manufactured in Lebanon and in quantities sufficient for local consumption.
Article (79) exempts devices and equipment that operate on solar energy to generate electric power that are imported from the date of publication of this law until the end of 2024 from value-added tax and customs duties, including the minimum customs fee and a lump sum fee of 3%.
Article (78) applies a flat fee of 3% for a period of 10 years on imports subject to VAT, with the exception of gasoline, industrial equipment, and raw materials used for industry and agriculture, regardless of whether the importer enjoys exemption from customs duties or value tax. added.
All these taxes and fees will eventually reflect a further decrease in the purchasing power of citizens, and in the absence of social policies, citizens will sin under more burdens and living costs.
