Gemayel Urges Aoun to Return Tax Law to Parliament to 'Rescue Economy'

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel on Thursday called on President Michel Aoun not to sign the tax law that was approved Wednesday by parliament and to return it to the legislature for reevaluation, warning of a possible “economic disaster.”

“The president has the ability to stop the crime that will be committed against the Lebanese people and economy,” said Gemayel at a press conference.

He warned that the taxes that have been approved would lower citizens' purchasing power “by 10 to 20%” and would also push “more than 100,000 citizens below the poverty line,” citing studies by the American University of Beirut.

Gemayel also quoted Father Butros Azar, the secretary general of Catholic schools, as saying that school tuitions would rise an average of 27%.

“The prices of apartments will also rise and our youths will suffer,” the young MP cautioned.

“An economic disaster has been created without any economic feasibility study for the taxes to rely on,” Gemayel lamented.

He added: “We have heard from his excellency the president statements in which he said that he would have preferred the state budget to be approved before the new wage scale... and accordingly we urge him to return the approved tax law to parliament for reevaluation in order to rescue the Lebanese economy and the middle and lower classes.”

And noting that Aoun has echoed “the same remarks that Kataeb voiced in parliament,” Gemayel lauded the president's stance and noted that he has “distanced himself from the political rhetoric that the parliament has witnessed.”

Gemayel also renewed his warning that the new taxes could be aimed at “financing the ruling class' electoral campaigns.”

The new taxes involve hiking the VAT tax from 10% to 11%, fines on seaside violations, and taxes on cement, administrative transactions, sea imports, lottery prizes, financial firms and banks.

Authorities have argued that the new taxes are necessary to fund the new wage scale but opponents of such a move have called for finding new revenues through putting an end to corruption and the waste of public money.