by bloomberg, Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri said on Tuesday he expects the
government to pass a draft state budget within days, the latest
breakthrough that could pave the way for an economic recovery in a
country plagued by political crises. Lebanon has been without a
state budget since 2005 amid a series of proxy confrontations between
regional powers including Saudi Arabia and Iran. Hariri, a longtime
Saudi ally, told Bloomberg in Beirut that Cabinet will pass the budget
by “the end of this week or next week maximum.”

The draft, which
is subject to parliamentary approval, will propose “simple” taxes, he
said without elaboration. Lawmakers will then discuss other levies
designed to finance public-sector wage increases, including raising the
value-added-tax rate, he said. The wage increase will cost the
government about $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion), Hariri said. Passing
the budget would be the latest major step indicating rival politicians
are overcoming differences to revive an economy battered by domestic
turmoil and the war in neighbouring Syria. In October, parliament
elected a president, ending a power vacuum that lasted
more than two years. The government then passed two energy laws that
could pave the way for investments by international oil and gas
companies.

— Bloomberg