Cabinet meeting held on Monday, July 24, 2023 at the Grand Serail. (Credit: Mohammed Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Najib Mikati's caretaker cabinet held its first meeting dedicated to the study of the 2023 draft budget on Monday.
"The budget issue did not take much time for discussion within the government meeting, and there will be consecutive meetings regarding the budget, with proposals and remarks presented by the ministers," said caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari after the meeting, according to the National News Agency.
The draft budget has been prepared by the Ministry of Finance. Once approved by the executive, Parliament will study and vote on the bill.
The measures it contains will come into effect as soon as the finance law is published in the Official Journal. Its adoption process is several months behind schedule. According to the Constitution, the draft budget for a given year should be sent to the Cabinet during the summer preceding its execution year and be voted on at the latest one month after the start of that same year.
However, for almost 20 years, the Lebanese state has been spending and collecting taxes without a budget or by following finance laws that were voted on late.
No budget was voted on in 2021. The 2020 budget was prepared and hastily adopted in January of that same year but quickly became obsolete due to the collapse of the Lebanese lira following the onset of the economic crisis. The 2022 budget was voted on last September, and its implementation was postponed until Nov. 15.
The text of the 2023 draft budget, reviewed by L'Orient Le Jour, does not refer to the exchange rate used. It envisages public expenditures of LL181,923 billion for 2023, which represents $1.98 billion at the market rate or $12.13 billion at the official rate.
According to the text, the current draft includes many adjustments to taxes and duties. Several experts criticize the lack of vision and consider some measures dangerous, such as allowing the Ministry of Finance to adjust tax brackets based on inflation. Taxes on tobacco and even soft drinks have also been proposed.