Explained: Why Lebanon’s decision to tax calls through Internet triggered protests

While the tax proposal has since then been withdrawn, if it were to pass, Lebanon would be the first country in the world to do so. The move, however, has triggered mass anti-government protests in the West Asian country.

Explained: Lebanese protest new tax proposal disrupting daily life

As the protests enter their ninth-day, schools, universities and government institutions are still shut and major roads in the country continue to be blocked, for the protestors are demanding mass-resignation of the MPs ministers and the president, Michel Aoun. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

On October 17, the Lebanese government proposed a plan to tax calls made through the internet and other similar services, “as Lebanese continue to reel under the burdens of the economic decay and increased taxation, “ An-Nahar reported. Lebanon’s Information Minister Jamil Jarrah announced that Voice Over IP (VoIP) calls in Lebanon would be charged at 20 cents everyday, from January 2020 onwards, which totals to $6 per month. These VoIP services include calls made through Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype and Viber. Even so, the government did not figure out the way in which the taxation would be implemented.