There is nothing new about the dollar loans paid at the price of 1500 … and the tax suggestion is still suspended
Loans Dollar Paid
The mystery still surrounds the fate of bank loans that were exposed on the basis of the exchange rate of 1500 Lebanese pounds for the dollar,
Although years have passed since the financial crisis begins Lebanon.
Despite the frequent talk about the necessity of processing this file,
However, the proposal to impose a tax on the profits resulting from these loans has not been activated until today.
Paid dollar loans, a loss for depositors
In the aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion on August 4, 2020, the Bank of Lebanon issued a circular on August 26 of the same year,
He allowed borrowers who do not have accounts in dollars to pay their loans in dollars using the Lebanese lira on the exchange rate of 1500 pounds per dollar, provided that the loan value does not exceed 800 thousand dollars.
This circular led to the benefit of thousands of borrowers from paying their loans in a small part of their true value.
Bayers’ profits … and the losses of depositors
According to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund, this measure led to the redistribution of wealth in Lebanon,
From depositors who lost part of their money, to borrowers whom the report described as “new wealthy”.
The losses for depositors in the year 2022 were estimated at about 15 billion dollars,
While it is believed that the number was later to reach about 20 billion dollars due to the continued loan payment operations in unfair ways.
Decreased volume of bank loans
The private sector’s bank loan portfolio decreased from $ 55.5 billion in 2019 to about $ 7 billion at the end of 2024,
As a result of the payment of borrowers their loans in Lebanese pounds or through bank checks with less than the actual loan.
Tax proposal: try to return part of the losses
In the year 2024, the ruler of the Bank of Lebanon at the time, Wassim Mansouri, presented
A law proposal to impose a one -time tax ranging between 15 and 17% on profits resulting from loans on a low exchange rate.
The proposal excluded residential and consumer loans, focusing on large investment loans. However, this proposal later gathered due to the political vacuum and the absence of an active government.
The absence of justice in paid dollar loans
Economist Nassib Gabriel confirmed that injustice has long been the money of the depositors,
Some companies have bought checks worth 20% of their actual value to pay loans, which he described as “non -fair”.
He also stressed the need to distinguish between companies that paid their loans from their deposits,
Which should not be held responsible, and between those that benefited from chaos to achieve profits at the expense of depositors.
What is the fate of the tax proposal?
Until the moment, the tax suggestion is still useless.
Gabriel emphasizes that there is no clarity in how to process this file,
Although the application of the tax can enter revenues to the state treasury, and can be allocated to compensate for part of the depositors’ losses.
