November 8, 2026
Beirut – “Lebanon 24”:
The opening of the 2027 draft budget file coincided with the escalation of popular demands to correct wages, protect end-of-service compensation, and publish the actual dues and collections for the occupancy of marine properties. Initial readings of the project – which has not yet been approved by the House of Representatives – revealed significant increases in administrative fees. The nomination fee for the “brevet” certificate was raised to two million liras, for the high school diploma to three million liras, and the fee for issuing an identity card was raised to one million liras.
The comparison between these fees and beach revenues is profoundly significant. Examination and transaction fees are automatically collected from each family due to the necessity of the student obtaining his right to run as a citizen and his identity. In contrast, revenues from offshore properties occupied by large investors remain hostage to low estimates, frequent settlements, and arrears, the numbers of which are withheld from regular publication.
The available data show a wide financial gap, as the area of occupancy on marine public property is estimated at about 4.9 million square metres, more than half of which is due to unlicensed occupancy. Annual revenues did not exceed $10 million before the collapse, compared to real estimates of no less than $120 million annually. Despite attempts to raise the speculation, a fatwa was issued granting the occupiers and trespassers a 30% discount, costing the treasury about $20 million, while the Ministry of Works announced at the beginning of the year that it was not convinced by the estimate of the trespass revenues amounting to $25 million, confirming its intention to conduct a comprehensive survey of the beach.
The 2027 draft budget returned to open the door to settlements by adding articles related to marine properties, occupancy allowances, and addressing encroachments, but it lacked any time limits for completing treatment requests, controlling violating spaces, or evacuating encroachments, which establishes the policy of normalizing the status quo. In the same context, the project increases the size of the budget from $6.05 billion to $6.91 billion, relying on collecting most of the tax increases from consumers, employees, and committed companies.
The debate revolves around collection priorities, not only the necessity of financing the treasury; The state, which extends its rapid authority to collect student fees, appears slow in collecting beach allowances from its occupants. This makes the publication of schedules of dues and arrears, and the transparency of the basis for calculating the new fees, a prerequisite for any serious discussion about the fairness of the budget before imposing additional burdens on families.
