Representative of fuel distributors Fadi Abou Chakra, said a tank of gasoline arrives in Lebanon at a cost of $23, including shipping and insurance, with more than $6 in state taxes, including VAT and other fees, in addition to the cost of transporting the fuel by tanker trucks from importing companies to gas stations.

He said the high prices seen today are the result of state taxes as well as the cost of bringing fuel into Lebanon.

Regarding the seriousness of the energy minister’s proposal to abolish the latest tax, Abou Chakra told Sawt Kol Lebnan that the latest levy amounts to 300,000 Lebanese pounds per gasoline tank, asking: “Will the government as a whole be able to abolish this levy?”

Abou Chakra stressed that citizens are living with uncertainty, expressing hope that the government would take an appropriate decision regarding diesel for a three-month period. He also expressed hope that the government would seek to support citizens ahead of the winter season, as was done under the government of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, when diesel prices were frozen.