Lebanon Road Blockades Erupt Over New Fuel Tax Hikes

Demonstrators shut down major roadways in and around Beirut following the Lebanese government's decision to impose new taxes on gasoline and increase value-added taxes. The tax measures aim to fund salary increases for government workers whose wages were devastated by Lebanon's 2019 economic crisis.

BEIRUT (AP) — Major thoroughfares in and around Lebanon’s capital were shut down by demonstrators Tuesday following the government’s decision to implement new taxation measures that will drive up gasoline costs and other consumer goods to finance public sector salary increases.

Lebanon’s Cabinet on Monday endorsed a levy of 300,000 Lebanese pounds (approximately $3.30) for every 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of gasoline purchased. Diesel was spared from the taxation measure, since most Lebanese citizens rely on it to operate personal generators that compensate for chronic state electrical power shortages.

Officials also decided to raise the value-added tax from 11 percent to 12 percent on all items currently subject to this fee, though parliamentary approval is still required.

These taxation measures will finance salary and pension increases for government workers, whose earnings were devastated during the 2019 monetary crisis, providing them with compensation equivalent to six additional months of pay. Information Minister Paul Morcos stated the wage increases are projected to cost approximately $800 million.

Despite sitting atop some of the Middle East’s most substantial gold deposits, this Mediterranean nation continues to battle persistent inflation and endemic corruption. The financially struggling country also sustained roughly $11 billion in destruction during the 2024 conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant organization.

Ghayath Saadeh, among a contingent of taxi operators who shut down a primary route into central Beirut, said the nation’s leadership “consider us taxi drivers to be garbage.”

“Everything is getting more expensive, food and drinks, and Ramadan is coming,” he said. “We will block all the roads, God willing, if they don’t respond to us.”

In 2019, when Lebanese authorities proposed additional taxes, including a $6 monthly charge for internet calling services like WhatsApp, massive demonstrations erupted that brought the nation to a standstill for months. Protesters demanded their leaders resign due to rampant corruption, governmental dysfunction and crumbling infrastructure, while also calling for an end to the nation’s religious power-sharing arrangement.

Lebanon has faced international demands to implement financial reforms for years, yet has achieved minimal advancement.

During Monday’s session, cabinet members also received an update from Lebanon’s military regarding progress on a strategy to disarm non-governmental militant organizations throughout the country, including Hezbollah.

The military announced last month it had finished the initial phase of this strategy, focusing on territory south of the Litani River near Israel’s border. The plan’s second phase will address portions of southern Lebanon between the Litani and Awali rivers, encompassing the coastal city of Sidon.

Information Minister Morcos stated after the cabinet meeting that the second phase is anticipated to require four months but might be prolonged “depending on the available resources, the continuation of Israeli attacks and the obstacles on the ground.”

This disarmament strategy follows a U.S.-mediated ceasefire that officially concluded fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in November 2024. Since that time, Israel has claimed Hezbollah is rebuilding and has maintained almost daily military strikes in Lebanon while occupying multiple elevated positions on Lebanese territory along the border.

Hezbollah maintains that the ceasefire agreement only mandates its disarmament south of the Litani River and refuses to consider disarming elsewhere in the country until Israel ceases its attacks and completely withdraws from Lebanese soil.