Tax evasion losses total $3 billion a year

Real estate stakeholders reject new fees

The 2013 draft budget will not include any additional taxes, according to Minister of State Marwan Kheireddine. “The government should find sources for additional revenue through reorganizing tax collection from a number of basic sectors, such as customs and electricity,” Kheireddine said during round table talks with stakeholders of the real estate sector.

The seminar, held on Thursday (October 11) on the sidelines of the property exhibition Dream 2012, focused on the proposed taxes on the real estate sector.

The yearly cost of tax evasion, in all sectors, amounts to $3 billion, according to Marwan Barakat, head of research at Bank Audi.

Treasury revenues totaled $4.8 billion in the first six months of 2012, of which $3.6 billion from taxes. Revenues from the VAT, the main contributor to the State’s tax income, totaled $1.2 billion. Income tax on profits, salaries, and capital gains and dividends totaled $980 million. The tax on interests on bank deposits totaled $216 million. Taxes on property brought in some $400 million to the Treasury, of which $274 million from real estate registration. Income from Customs totaled $600 million.