Lebanon’s Cabinet criticised for proposing to tax internet calls made using WhatsApp
One Twitter user suggested a new logo for the VoIP provider, changing WhatsApp to What$App
The cash-strapped Lebanese government faces anger against the latest tax proposal to place a 0.22 cents levy on all calls made through WhatsApp and other Voice over IP services.
Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Choucair confirmed media reports about the proposal to tax calls made through WhatsApp, Facebook, FaceTime and other popular apps after the Cabinet discussed the proposal on Thursday. The monthly levy would be capped at $6 (Dh22).
The government is discussing proposals for additional taxes for the 2020 budget to bring down the world’s third-highest debt-to-GDP level. Lebanon owes $74.5 billion to creditors – 140 per cent of GDP – and is attempting to take measures to reduce the debt and unlock international aid tied to reforms.
Government debt has been downgraded by ratings agencies and the country is running low on US dollars. Experts say the country is facing a financial crisis and Prime Minister Saad Hariri says working to fix the economy is his main priority.
In 2017, the French government convened the Cedre conference at which countries pledged $11 billion in aid to rebuild the country’s infrastructure contingent on a series of fiscal reforms. The Lebanese government still needs to pass the legislation and cut the deficit to acquire the money.
Among the Cabinet’s proposals on Thursday was the tax on internet calls as well as an increase in VAT by two points in 2021 and again in 2022, bringing it to 15 per cent.
The Cabinet endorsed several proposals on Thursday, including raising the levy on tobacco products and boosting security at borders to clamp down on smuggling.
The proposal to tax internet calls, however, immediately attracted criticised.
“The [Lebanese] people will not pay a single pound on WhatsApp service which is their vent to swear at some politicians without being tracked,” MP Paula Yacoubian said. She urged the Cabinet to back off immediately before they become a “shameful charade”.
“But you are ignoring all warning signs and trying to impose a tax on people instead of creating productive services ... doing the same over and over again will lead to the same result, theft and squander.”
Many Lebanese took to social media to decry the proposal.
Roland Aboujaoude, a lecturer at USEK University, tweeted the new logo of WhatsApp in Lebanon showing the classic green box with a phone in a speech bubble above the altered app name now spelling “What$App”.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Hijazi on Twitter asked why the government was planning to impose an additional fee when Lebanese phone bills are already so high.
Lebanese telecoms bills are relatively high compared with other places in the region, with 500MB costing $10 per month, 10GB is $33 per month and 100GB is $109 with MTC Touch, one of two state-licensed networks. Calls and other services are charged separately.
Others asked how the mechanism would be enforced, for example, if someone without a Lebanese SIM card used WhatsApp over Wi-Fi.
The Lebanese licensed telecoms companies – MTC Touch and Alga – generate hundreds of millions a year for the government, funds that are used to cover the budgets of municipalities and other services. According to reports, the companies paid the Lebanese government $1.2bn in 2015.