The “Committee on Contractors in Public Administrations” issued a statement today, Wednesday, in which it announced that it would stop working for two days, on Thursday and Friday, corresponding to February 19 and 20. This cessation comes as a rejection of “the policy of imposing taxes on the Lebanese people, and a refusal to hold the public sector responsible for these taxes, at a time when their basic living and job demands have not been met.”
The contractors confirm that they stand united with the Lebanese people in confronting unfair tax policies, and hold the government and concerned parties responsible for these decisions.
The committee also considered that the measures taken by the government to impose new taxes and fees are considered an absolutely unacceptable escalatory step. She explained, “The continued absence of account closures for many years, and the refusal to conduct a transparent financial audit, confirms the existence of a serious flaw in the management of public funds, and reinforces suspicions about the existence of a vicious and hidden circle whose goal is to mislead public opinion, cover up waste and corruption, and continue discretionary spending.”
The committee believes that “the government, instead of controlling customs, regulating revenues, and closing waste gutters, is resorting to people’s pockets to impose increases on gasoline, on basic goods, on customs duties for small and large containers, at a rate of 1% of the TVA and on all sectors,” stressing that “this increase is absolutely rejected.”
