Dr. Nabil Bou Ghantous, the representative of the Federation of European Chambers of Commerce in Beirut, stated that the budget numbers for 2021 contain scandalous errors and deadly sins that recur every year.
The National News Agency quoted a statement from Dr. Bou Ghantous in which he deemed the decisions in the budget draft regarding cuts and reductions in social security benefits for public administration employees, military and security personnel, and retirees as scandalous, asserting that these will result in significant resentment and social unrest if approved, as they deprive a large segment of citizens of rights and entitlements they have fought hard to obtain. He emphasized that they will not allow these rights to be taken away under any pretext.
The representative pointed out that the 2021 budget numbers, particularly regarding the introduction of a new tax named "National Solidarity Tax," serve as a certificate of absolution for those who, without justification, benefited from financial engineering that amassed enormous wealth, only to subsequently illicitly transfer most of it abroad with the knowledge of financial and monetary authorities that have remained inactive in a suspicious collusion, while small depositors from the general public are having their funds frozen and are being extorted every time they attempt to withdraw even modest amounts to manage their daily affairs.
Dr. Bou Ghantous noted that it would have been more appropriate for the budget to include a tax on large fortunes, especially those accrued by their owners from the astronomical interest rates granted by the Central Bank of Lebanon, which at times reached 40% on their deposits, particularly in treasury bonds and interest on public debt. He revealed that according to specialized references, these interests amount to between $60 billion and $80 billion, primarily benefiting banks over the decades.
He questioned how the Ministry of Finance does not have detailed figures on the investments of Lebanese banks at the central bank and who is withholding this information or distorting it. Dr. Bou Ghantous pointed out the ongoing trend of annually exempting banks, companies, and large institutions from most of their outstanding fines, which further harms the state's finances at the expense of small taxpayers and citizens in general, explaining that this process has become a way of rewarding these parties for their transgressions instead of holding them accountable for their repeated indiscretions during the conduct of their businesses.
