The Insane Proposed Taxes In Lebanon’s 2024 Budget

Remember how hard your dad cursed when the Ministry of Finance introduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) at 10% in 2002? Well, buckle in because 2024 is going to be a doozy. While death and taxes are inevitable around the world, Lebanon takes the cake. Clearly, after squandering billions and billions, the Lebanese state is trying to make back some of that money. 

Here are SOME of the noteworthy proposed taxes in the 2024 budget, shared by Al Modon.

First we start with the most shocking of the pile, did you die abroad? Caskets being flown in are to be treated like imports and be taxed accordingly. You thought you could escape the Lebanese government by simply dropping dead? Think again.

Then we get to VAT – applicable on nearly all transactions and imposed on almost all goods and services, this amount is to be increased from the existing 11% to 12%. 

Some of the taxable events see a 40-fold increase, including things like taxes on patents, literary and intellectual properties, artistic, commercial, industrial, and other events too. In layman’s terms, you want to register a patent? It’ll cost you 40 times the current amount. 

Judicial fees related to creating commercial registries (registering companies etc.) see an increase by 1000x.

There’s also a wonky way to figure out your income tax if you get paid in USD, to be calculated by converting the salary to Lira at a rate of 40% of the platform’s exchange rate, and then the calculated tax will be converted back to dollars based on the same platform exchange rate.

Did you understand anything? We didn’t, but it sounds expensive.