Driving your car in Lebanon has never been so expensive. Neither has the government swallowed a more substantive share of the transportation budget from private households. Since the introduction of value-added tax in February 2002, the government’s revenue participation has reached and exceeded 50% on the amount a consumer spends on the purchase of a new car, even in the middle market segment of cars that cost $20,000 to $30,000 ex factory. Data from Lebanon’s ministry of finance (MoF) reveal that on the level of fiscal income, government revenue derived from the car sector has increased from 4.9% to 16% of total government revenues. These revenue streams are a combination of registration fees on cars, excise taxes on imported cars collected at customs, and excise taxes collected on fuel. The most pronounced increase has impacted fuel costs, where the fiscal burden on Lebanon’s driving population ballooned from little over $50
