Berri Rejects Issuing Final Judgments on Draft Budget

Speaker Nabih Berri urged officials not to issue a final judgment on the 2012 draft state budget because he said it could be amended during discussions at the cabinet or parliament.

Berri told As Safir daily published Monday that the draft has some positive and negative aspects. Among the negative articles is a proposed 2 percent hike in Value Added Tax. VAT currently stands at 10 percent.

The increase to 12 percent is “unjust,” he said, adding that the government should find other means to compensate for the expected rise in wages such as speeding up efforts to drill for oil and gas in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone that would improve the treasury’s income.

Berri made his remarks to As Safir after he held talks with Premier Najib Miqati in Ain el-Tineh on Saturday. Discussions also focused on the demands of the General Labor Confederation to more than double minimum wages to LL1,250,000.

The GLC is planning to hold a nationwide strike on Wednesday if its demands were not met. Top leaders were on Monday making last ditch efforts to resolve the wage crisis.