It came at the last minute. For two years, the Ministry of Finance and the Lebanese Petroleum Administration (LPA) have been drafting a tax law focused specifically on the oil and gas industry. In late September, Parliament approved it just in time for the law to potentially govern the first oil and gas exploration and production contracts the state hopes to sign during or before Spring 2018 (with bids due October 12). Contract signature is not a given, but with the passage of the tax law, Lebanon’s oil and gas fiscal regime is finally complete. The new law is tailored for the oil and gas industry and imposes higher tax rates on oil and gas companies than it does on other corporations registered or operating in the country. Corporate income tax, for example, is set at 20 percent in the oil and gas tax law, as opposed to the 15
Matt was Executive's Economics & Policy Editor and Real Estate Editor from May 2014 to November 2017. He began reporting in Lebanon in April 2007, and his coverage focused on oil and gas, public policy and human rights.
