Lebanon Plans to Tax Banks, Cut Ministers’ Pay to Contain Unrest

(Bloomberg) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced plans to tax banks’ profits and slash the salaries of ministers by 50% to reduce the budget deficit while sparing average citizens the brunt of austerity in a bid to contain mass protests demanding the government’s ouster.

In a televised speech, Hariri said the plan also includes:

• Reducing the electricity sector’s financial deficit
• Creating an anti-corruption body by the end of the year
• An $100 million World Bank loan at low interest rates

Hariri said the measures would reduce the budget deficit to 0.6% of gross domestic product in 2020, compared with more than 11% in 2018.

To contact the reporters on this story: Lin Noueihed in Cairo at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net;Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.