Project Overview

The Tax4SDG initiative aims to align Lebanon's national priorities on financing for development with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing specifically on the tax system. In the wake of Lebanon’s severe economic crisis, the project supports the Ministry of Finance and the Lebanese Tax Authority (LTA) in modernizing tax administration and policy. By bridging national and regional taxation priorities, the project seeks to ensure that tax regimes generate increased domestic resources necessary for economic recovery and essential local service delivery.

Project Objective

• Increase the ability of the Lebanese Tax Administration to tackle tax avoidance, tax evasion, and Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
• Support the Lebanese government in increasingly aligning its tax and fiscal policies with the SDGs.
• Ensure Lebanon is an active participant in regional and international dialogues on taxation, reflecting country-specific evidence and perspectives.
•  Empower core administrative processes to improve tax collections in the short term while informing long-term institutional development.
• Leverage the Lebanon Digital Transformation National Strategy (May 2022) to modernize tax administration.
   

Achievements & Key Figures

Digital Transformation

• Launched the Personal Income Tax Declaration (F1 Version 2) online in March 2025. By 5 November 2025, 121,444 declarations had been submitted electronically—a 1,351% increase compared to the same period in 2024 (March–October), when 8,368 declarations were filed through both paper-based and online channels. 
• Introduced the online Income Tax Declaration for Individual Companies under the Actual Profit regime in September 2025. As of 5 November 2025, 7,679 declarations had been submitted. 
• Uploaded the Indirect Tax Declaration for Financial Stamp Duty on invoices, receipts, credit notes, and debit notes in July 2025. By 5 November 2025, 24,118 declarations had been submitted online. 
• Recorded 110,169 submissions for the Income Tax Declaration for Individual Companies under the Lump-Sum Profit regime for tax year 2024, as of 5 November 2025. 
• Recorded 16,739 submissions for the Declaration of the Partner's Share of Profits (A49 Version 2) for tax year 2024, as of 5 November 2025. 
• Automated 10 tax policy measures approved under the 2024 national budget, including adjustments to thresholds, tax brackets, and fees in response to inflation, further expanding digital tax services. 
• Implemented the Digital Transformation Maturity Model (DTMM) assessment, identifying key priority areas for reform, including taxpayer identification number updates and strengthened legal frameworks for information sharing. 
• Introduced a Google Maps-based digital tool to strengthen tax audits and compliance, enabling the collection of data on more than 220,000 businesses and economic activities across Lebanon. 
   

Tax Policy Advancements

• Conducted Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Tax Framework assessments for six SDGs: No Poverty (SDG 1), Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17). 
• Leveraged the Tax for SDGs initiative to establish a strategic partnership with UNICEF and ESCWA aimed at strengthening tax policy, domestic resource mobilization, and evidence-based fiscal reforms. 

Gender Integration in Taxation

• Conducted an SDG Tax Framework assessment focused on Gender Equality (SDG 5). 
• Supported the Ministry of Finance in collecting gender-disaggregated tax data and developing a dedicated gender statistics dashboard.
• Provided technical support for the establishment of a Gender Observatory within the Ministry of Finance. 
  Budget Execution and Analysis.
• Deployed 101 volunteers across eight departments to support 55 civil servants, significantly accelerating data entry and transaction processing. 
• Cleared a substantial transaction backlog, processing 453,611 forms against a target of 900,000, including 100,513 forms through the Treasury Department. 
• Enabled the resumption of the Public Finance Monitor for 2024 and 2025, restoring a critical public financial management reporting function. 
• Improved data integrity, reliability, and fiscal analysis within the public financial management framework. 
• Enhanced taxpayer service delivery through expanded online declaration systems, reducing reliance on paper-based processes and manual data entry.
   

GESI Component (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion)

The project is designated as GEN2, emphasizing a gender-responsive approach to taxation and development. It seeks to ensure that national legislation and fiscal policies are gender- and age-sensitive, recognizing that tax structures can have distinct impacts on different social groups. By promoting inclusive participation in tax dialogues and focusing on policies that improve general welfare through increased public revenue, the project aims to ensure that the benefits of fiscal reform are equitably distributed across the Lebanese population. UNDP supported the establishment of a Gender Observatory within the Ministry of Finance to systematically assess the gendered impacts of tax policies. 
The Observatory was initiated following the 2024 SDG Taxation Framework assessment for SDG 5, which identified key gaps, including the absence of gender impact analyses, a legal basis for gender statistics, and accessible gender-disaggregated tax data. Designed as a permanent institutional mechanism, the Observatory will collect, analyze, and disseminate gender-related tax data to inform evidence-based, inclusive fiscal reforms. Capacity-building training delivered to Ministry of Finance staff in May 2025 strengthened institutional readiness and refined indicators and data-collection tools. The Ministry is expected to launch the first cycle of data collection and analysis by early 2026, with findings disseminated through a public dashboard on their website to support transparency and accountability.