Minister Yassine Jaber at the Grand Serail on Sept. 8, 2026. (Credit: Photo released by the Ministry of Finance)
BEIRUT — Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said Tuesday that the draft 2027 budget, which he submitted to the government at the end of August, was more than an accounting exercise: It is part of a medium-term strategy aimed at restoring and modernizing the country. The government was scheduled to begin reviewing the draft the same day.
"We need to move from a budget whose main goal is to control spending and ensure balance between revenues and expenses, to a strategic budget that reflects the government's vision and priorities," Jaber said at a press conference held on the sidelines of a meeting on the SIGMA program, a joint EU-OECD initiative that supports public administration and public financial management reforms.
Summarizing the main points of the report accompanying the draft budget, which he was expected to present to the government in the afternoon, the minister said the text had been drawn up around two objectives: “responding quickly to crises and meeting urgent needs” amid the ongoing crisis and war between Hezbollah and Israel, and “preparing for the recovery phase and working on the strategic drivers of growth as soon as conditions permit.”
"Responding to crises in a context of ongoing instability requires strict budgetary discipline and a clear spending priorities," he added.
Jaber also recalled that the draft incorporates a medium-term budget framework, which sets out the main fiscal guidelines over several years. The text also includes a section dedicated to digitizing public services.
In a statement to Red TV Lebanon, the minister said the draft did not include “new taxes,” although he omitted the fact that the Finance Ministry had proposed increasing certain taxes, including the flat import tax on holding and offshore companies.
The draft budget was submitted before Sept. 1. The government must adopt it and send it to Parliament before the start of the regular fall session if it wants to retain its prerogative to enact the budget by decree should lawmakers fail to vote on it by Jan. 31.
