Author: citylog
Civil Society Coalition for Accountability and Ending Impunity calls for a review and control of Riad Salameh’s Assets Declaration
Civil Society Coalition for Accountability and Ending Impunity calls for a review and control of Riad Salameh’s Assets Declaration under Law No 189/2020 on Illicit enrichment.
A coalition of organizations has urged the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate former Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh’s asset declarations, citing concerns over undisclosed funds flagged in forensic audits. This will constitute a first step to make the law enforceable and enquire about and disclose cases of illicit enrichment and combat corruption.
MoF notification #300/S1 dated 7 Feb. 2025 – New brackets and threshold for the 2024 Built property tax
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued on the 7th February 2025 the notification # 300/S1 (attached a scanned copy) reminding the taxpayers of the adjusted amounts for the built property tax income threshold, residency annual exemption and tax brackets for the year 2024 mentioned in the articles 51, 52 and 53 of the Budget Law 2024 (Law # 324) dated 12/02/2024 :
1) Any taxpayer owning or exploiting a built property or a share in a built property generating an annual rental income of greater than LBP 1,200 million by property starting from the year 2024 has the obligation to submit a built tax declaration electronically [before the 1st April of the following year] (article 52 of the Budget Law 2024).
2) The amount of the residency annual exemption has been increased to LBP 360 million starting from the beginning of the year 2024. Each owner or partner can benefit from this annual residency exemption according to his share [in two residences only] (article 53 of the Budget Law 2024).
3) The brackets* of the built property tax on the annual net income per property have been amended as follows starting from the year 2024:
|
Annual net taxable income (in LBP) |
Tax % |
|
From 1 to 1,065,000,000 |
4% |
|
From 1,065,000,001 to 2,265,000,000 |
6% |
|
From 2,265,000,001 to 3,465,000,000 |
8% |
|
From 3,465,000,001 to 5,865,000,000 |
11% |
|
Above 5,865,000,000 |
14% |
*the above-mentioned brackets are based on those outlined in the article 51 of the Budget Law 2024 have been adjusted for the period from 1/1/2024 till 15/2/2024 (publication date of the Budget law) with the old brackets.
NSSF Notification #780 dated 24 January 2025-Extension of 2024 filling deadlines till 31 March 2025
NSSF Notification #780 dated 24th January 2025 extending 2024 filing deadlines as follows:
– Monthly NSSF declarations of September, October, November & December 2024 are extended till 31st March 2025.
– The Third quarter NSSF declarations of the year 2024 are also extended till 31st March 2025.
MoF notification #1211 dated 15 Jan. 2025 – Deadlines to send a request letter for inventory revaluation clarifications
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued on the 15th January 2025 the notification # 121/1 (attached a scanned copy) clarifying the previous notification # 3381/1 dated 31st December 2024 related to the deadlines set for taxpayers to send a request letter to inform the MoF of their will to reevaluate their inventory according to the article 2 of the Law # 330 dated 5th December 2024 (Reevaluation Law with no tax impact). The deadlines are set as follows:
– Before the 5th February 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2023.
– Before the 31st January 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2024.
This new MoF notification requires from the taxpayers willing to reevaluate their inventory to send the following documents to the MoF before the above mentioned deadlines:
– Request letter to inform the MoF of their will to reevaluate their inventory.
– This request letter should include a commitment from the taxpayer to keep all the supporting documents required by the Law #330 for this inventory reevaluation (or in a separate commitment letter).
Important clarification: This notification also specified that for those taxpayers who doesn’t want to reevaluate their inventory as at end of 2022 and have chosen to reevaluate their inventory starting from the year 2024, they will only be able to reevaluate the inventory purchased in 2023. Therefore, it is recommended to reevaluate the inventory in 2023 based on their value as at end of 2022 to be able to reevaluate the old inventory purchased before 31 December 2022 at their market value with no tax impact. This reevaluation is mainly recommended for companies with long life cycle inventory such as real estate properties available for sale or jewelry who should send a request and commitment letter to the MoF before the 5th February 2025.
MoF notification #121/1 dated 15 Jan. 2025 – Deadlines to send a request letter for inventory revaluation & clarifications
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued on the 15th January 2025 the notification # 121/1 (attached a scanned copy) clarifying the previous notification # 3381/1 dated 31st December 2024 related to the deadlines set for taxpayers to send a request letter to inform the MoF of their will to reevaluate their inventory according to the article 2 of the Law # 330 dated 5th December 2024 (Reevaluation Law with no tax impact). The deadlines are set as follows:
– Before the 5th February 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2023.
– Before the 31st January 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2024.
This new MoF notification requires from the taxpayers willing to reevaluate their inventory to send the following documents to the MoF before the above mentioned deadlines:
– Request letter to inform the MoF of their will to reevaluate their inventory.
– This request letter should include a commitment from the taxpayer to keep all the supporting documents required by the Law #330 for this inventory reevaluation (or in a separate commitment letter).
Important clarification: This notification also specified that for those taxpayers who doesn’t want to reevaluate their inventory as at end of 2022 and have chosen to reevaluate their inventory starting from the year 2024, they will only be able to reevaluate the inventory purchased in 2023. Therefore, it is recommended to reevaluate the inventory in 2023 based on their value as at end of 2022 to be able to reevaluate the old inventory purchased before 31 December 2022 at their market value with no tax impact. This reevaluation is mainly recommended for companies with long life cycle inventory such as real estate properties available for sale or jewelry who should send a request and commitment letter to the MoF before the 5th February 2025.
MoF decision #65/1 dated 15 Jan. 2025-Extension of 2024 quarterly tax on salaries and NRT declarations till 31 Jan. 2025
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued on the 15th January 2025 the decision #65/1 (attached a scanned copy) extending the following tax filing deadlines till the 31st January 2025:
1) Tax on salaries declarations of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of the year 2024 and the payment of the related tax.
2) Non-resident tax declaration of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter of the year 2024 and the payment of the related tax.
NSSF Memo #1 dated 9 January 2025-Annual ceilings for the year 2024
NSSF Memo #1 dated 9th January 2025 that defines the 2024 annual ceilings for the Sickness & Maternity and the Family allowances contributions as follows:
– Sickness & Maternity annual ceiling for the year 2024 = LBP 891,000,000.
– Family allowances annual ceiling for the year 2024 = LBP 144,000,000.
MoF notification #3381/1 dated 31 Dec. 2024 – Deadlines to send a request letter for inventory revaluation
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued on the 31st December 2024 the notification # 3381/1 (attached a scanned copy) related to the deadlines set for taxpayers to send a request letter to inform the MoF of their will to reevaluate their inventory according to the article 2 of the Law # 330 dated 5th December 2024 (Reevaluation Law with no tax impact). The deadlines are set as follows:
– Before the 5th February 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2023.
– Before the 31st January 2025 for the reevaluation of the inventory of the fiscal year 2024.
MoF decision #5/1 dated 3 Jan. 2025 – Obligation of online tax declaration for individual taxpayers
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) issued on the 3rd January 2025 the decision # 5/1 (attached a scanned copy) requiring from the individual taxpayers to register online and submit their personal income tax declaration (F1 form) online through the MoF electronic tax portal starting from the fiscal year 2023.