Lebanese govt agrees to raise tax on interest payments to 10% for three years

Bloom Industries

10/05/2019 16:39

BEIRUT, May 10 (Reuters) - The Lebanese government agreed on
Friday to raise the tax on interest payments to 10% from 7% for
three years as part of the draft 2019 budget, the information
minister said.
    The government is discussing the draft budget, which aims to
bring down the state deficit.
    The chairman of the Lebanese banking association recently
warned any increase in the tax on interest payments would affect
capital flows to Lebanon, weaken banks’ ability to play their
financing role in the economy, and obstruct growth.

 (Writing by Tom Perry
Editing by Gareth Jones)
 ((thomas.perry@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
thomas.perry.reuters.com@reuters.net))