Khoury Warns Merchants Against Price Manipulation

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Minister of Economy Raed Khoury stressed on Friday that the ministry has started monitoring commercial institutions and prices of commodities, as he urged the Lebanese to report any violation related to manipulation in prices.

“The ministry is working to monitor commercial establishments and control violations before any tax is issued in the official gazette,” said Khoury in a press conference.

He warned some traders against “unjust increase in prices,” which would "lay additional burden on the Lebanese."

“We have asked observers to monitor the prices on a weekly basis so as to prevent manipulation,” he added.

"We are fair to traders but, at the same time, keen to prosecute violators," he said, calling on citizens to help out by informing the ministry of any violation therein.

After the parliament agreed a series of taxes to provide the needed revenues to fund the long-stalled wage scale, it has been reported that prices of commodities have witnessed an increase although the suggested levies have not been officially put into implementation.

In addition to a 1% VAT increase new taxes have been imposed on diesel, traffic fees, travel, bank interests, cement, cigarettes and alcohol in addition to a host of taxes related to financial and real estate transactions.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, has been pushing for the approval of the new wage scale for several years now and has organized numerous street protests and strikes to this end.

SourceNaharnet