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Conflict Incident Report

Lebanese Communist Party protests proposed tax increases

Date of incident: 
September 21, 2018
Death toll: 
0persons
Number of Injured: 
0persons
Actors/Parties Involved: 
Lebanese Civilians
Lebanese Communist Party

The youth sector of the Lebanese Communist Party and the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth staged a protest Friday in front of the Central Bank in Hamra to oppose reported proposed tax increases.

According to a recent report in Al-Akhbar newspaper, Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh suggested in a meeting last week that to resolve the country’s housing loans crisis, LL5,000 ($3.33) should be added per every 20 liters of gasoline and the Value-Added Tax also be increased.

Salameh later denied these increasing were on the table.

Lebanese Communist Party leader Hanna Gharib commended those who showed up to protest the proposed increase in VAT and additional taxing on gasoline prices, saying, “They impose taxes on the poor, workers, teachers and low-income earners, as if these are the cause of the housing loan crisis.”

Primary category: 
Collective Action [inc. protests, solidarity movements...]
Classification of conflict (primary): 
Policy conflicts
Conflicts associated with political decisions, government or state policies regarding matters of public concern, such as debates concerning law reforms, electoral laws, and protests of the government’s political decisions, among others.
Classification of conflict(secondary):
Conflicts of socio-economic development
Conflicts associated with lack of, or gaps in economic development, opportunities and access to resources.