Local experts agree that corruption in Lebanon has become a challenge of enormous size and systemic reach. And neither the public nor the private sector can tackle this challenge alone. Recognizing this, the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), with CIPE’s support, created a vehicle – the Lebanon Anti-Bribery Network (LABN). Through it both the Lebanese private and public sectors could work collectively against corruption and bribery in an environment which does not attempt to lay blame, but rather seeks to identify constructive solutions.
On January 27, 2010, over 50 participants, including representatives from the Lebanese Ministry of Finance and former Ministers of Finance, as well as representatives from the private sector and civil society, debated a preliminary policy paper and policy recommendations developed by the LABN to improve transparency and governance in Lebanon’s taxation system.
The topic of tax evasion and tax avoidance in Lebanon generated heated debates and exchanges. Getting down to issues, LTA proposed several policy recommendations to improve tax compliance in the country, including reforming the national curriculum to ensure that tax issues are addressed; introducing a tax ID card; and establishing an identification system of taxpayers’ numbers for citizens and corporations. Other recommendations included re-evaluating the role of tax inspectors and adopting new, streamlined procedural manuals.
This discussion was a part of the broader set of events implemented by LTA to improve governance practices in three priority sectors in Lebanon – the electricity sector, the taxation system, and the construction sector. Feedback generated by private, public, and civil society representatives during these roundtables will be incorporated into policy recommendations to be included in the LABN’s National Anti-Bribery Action Plan, slated for release in March, 2010.
Published Date: February 17, 2010