Taxation’s redistribution effect

Alain Bifani, director general of Lebanon’s finance ministry, tells Executive that newly enacted taxation will shore up revenue in the public coffer. During an interview at the end of August (before the constitutional court froze the new tax measures) Bifani detailed the tax measures and discussed their impact on segments of the population and on the economy. He said that the new taxation plus the salary scale increase for public sector workers would lead to a redistribution of wealth, but cautioned that this is only a starting point toward leveling a fair system of taxation, and added that now is the time for lawmakers to seriously reform public spending. E   One of the early responses to the tax proposals was that an increase in taxation would have a subduing effect on the national economy. Can you comment on this notion from the perspective of the Ministry of Finance? I