Protesters blocked main roads in and around Beirut on Tuesday after Lebanon’s Cabinet approved new taxes raising fuel prices and other products to fund public pay hikes. The Cabinet approved a tax of 300,000 Lebanese pounds (about $3.30) on every 20 litres of gasoline on Monday, while diesel fuel was exempted due to its widespread use for private generators amid severe electricity shortages.
The government also agreed to increase the value-added tax on all products already subject to the levy from 11% to 12%, which still requires parliamentary approval. The tax increases aim to support wage raises and pension boosts for public employees, whose salaries lost value in the 2019 currency collapse. Information Minister Paul Morcos said the pay increases were estimated to cost about $800 million.
Ghayath Saadeh, a taxi driver among those blocking a main road into downtown Beirut, said the country’s leaders “consider us taxi drivers to be garbage.” He added, “Everything is getting more expensive, food and drinks, and Ramadan is coming. We will block all the roads, God willing, if they don’t respond to us.”
Lebanon, despite sitting on one of the largest gold reserves in the Middle East, suffers ongoing inflation and widespread corruption. The cash-strapped country also sustained about $11 billion in damages during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The government has faced international pressure for years to implement financial reforms but has made little progress.
In a separate development, the cabinet received a report from the Lebanese army on its progress disarming non-state militant groups, including Hezbollah. The army completed the first phase south of the Litani River near the Israeli border, and the second phase, covering areas between the Litani and Awali rivers, is expected to take four months but could be extended depending on resources and Israeli attacks.
