2024-01-27T06:42:03+00:00
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/ The Lebanese Parliament, late at night, approved the draft budget law for 2024 after introducing amendments to it.
Experts say the draft law neglected to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from the financial collapse that devastated the public sector nearly five years ago.
The draft law was approved after three days of disagreements, which included many quarrels in the parliament hall with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, highlighting the deep divisions that have paralyzed Lebanese politics and prolonged the presidential vacuum that has been ongoing for more than a year.
The budget, which was amended over months from the version Mikati submitted to the House of Representatives, expected a significant increase in state revenues earned through value-added tax and customs duties.
It also included measures that appeared to target those who made illicit gains during Lebanon’s financial crisis, by fining companies that unfairly benefited from the central bank’s former currency exchange platform and traders who used central bank support on imports to make profits.