3 days ago
Finance Ministry raises tone against tax fraud
BEIRUT — The Finance Ministry raised the tone in an unusually stern statement against taxpayers who commit tax fraud, reminding them of the sanctions provided by Lebanese law for such offenses.
Targeting "taxpayers subject to taxes and duties collected by the Directorate General of Public Finance as well as taxes collected by the Customs Administration," the ministry assured that it will be "strict in applying the necessary legal measures to combat tax fraud, including those relating to the lifting of banking secrecy when fraud is established, in addition to imposing the criminal penalties provided for by existing laws."
The ministry recalled that tax fraud is one of the offenses outlined in Law No. 44 of 2015 concerning the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and that Law No. 44/2008, the code of tax procedures, provides for a wide array of behaviors that could constitute such an infraction.
These include concealing taxable income, creating off-the-books accounts, recording fictitious expenses, or hiding the real beneficiary of a transaction, to name just these four examples.
The ministry's warning seems to be part of measures taken to assure the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the authorities' willingness and ability to reform the country.
However, many businesses that pay their taxes fear that these measures may also serve to increase the pressure on taxpayers who are already compliant, while allowing informal economy actors who completely evade their fiscal obligations — and may be politically protected — to continue to thrive.
