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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
In the pre-Civil War days, receipts from customs duties
accounted for nearly half of total government income. In 1984
customs receipts fell to US$69.4 million, barely one-third their
1983 level. The Ministry of Finance stated that customs receipts
should be ten times higher than they were in 1984 to meet its
targets for this revenue source. Instead, they fell further--to US$
24.3 million in 1985. In 1986 total government spending was
estimated at US$413 million against income of barely US$23 million.
Of this already paltry sum, customs receipts amounted to just
US$9.7 million.
In the mid-1980s, the government still had assets to cover its
financial obligations. A November 1985 report listed as the
nation's principal assets its gold reserves (about US$10 billion in
foreign exchange reserves) and holdings in its Intra Investment
Company
(see Banking and Finance
, this ch.). In addition, the
report said, there were more than US$440 million in public sector
deposits with the Central Bank, about US$200 million in secured
debts owed to the state, and about US$86 million in various Central
Bank assets. Against this, however, domestic public debt totaled
US$2.5 billion, while foreign debt totaled US$200 million.
Some of the government's assets were unusual. By virtue of its
Intra Investment Company holdings, the government had an important
stake in the Casino du Liban, a famed nightclub at Juniyah. The
casino also epitomized the way in which government had become
dependent on militia deals to secure financing. In 1986 the casino
reached an agreement with the Lebanese Forces (LF) militia under
which the LF would close all illegal gambling houses under its
control in exchange for a monthly income of US$1.2 million. At that
time the casino's earnings were about US$2 million a month, of
which 40 percent was paid in royalties to the government.
Data as of December 1987
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