The bay of downtown Beirut on July 7, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Since January, Finance Minister Yassin Jaber has been promoting the idea of boosting state revenues by allowing wealthy foreigners or expatriates to obtain Lebanese residency and benefit from a relatively favorable tax regime.He is presenting it as a way to help fund the reconstruction of southern Lebanon, the eventual repayment of frozen bank deposits and a possible adjustment of public sector wages, as civil servants have been mobilized since the start of the year.“This mechanism already exists in countries like Switzerland, through residence permits for investors or high net worth individuals, and in Italy, with the investor visa,” Jaber told L’Orient-Le Jour. Backdrop The IMF returns to Beirut amid disagreements and contested reforms “It is an effective way to increase tax revenues.” He reiterated arguments he had already made...
Since January, Finance Minister Yassin Jaber has been promoting the idea of boosting state revenues by allowing wealthy foreigners or expatriates to obtain Lebanese residency and benefit from a relatively favorable tax regime.He is presenting it as a way to help fund the reconstruction of southern Lebanon, the eventual repayment of frozen bank deposits and a possible adjustment of public sector wages, as civil servants have been mobilized since the start of the year.“This mechanism already exists in countries like Switzerland, through residence permits for investors or high net worth individuals, and in Italy, with the investor visa,” Jaber told L’Orient-Le Jour. Backdrop The IMF returns to Beirut amid disagreements and contested reforms “It is an effective way to increase tax revenues.” He reiterated arguments he had...
