Lebanon’s fiscal deficit (Budgetary & Treasury) contracted by 14.10% y-o-y in the first eight months of 2020 to around $2.54 billion, compared to $2.95 billion a year earlier. The primary balance (Budget & Treasury) was a deficit of $1,136 million, in comparison with a surplus of $369 million by August 2019. In detail, the deep economic recession has taken a toll on government revenues (Budget & Treasury) which fell by 20.25% y-o-y to around $6.14 billion, with tax revenues dropping by 24.79% to $4.59 billion and non-tax revenues plunging by 36.56% to $798.34 million. The drop in tax revenues came as a result of the 49.67% dip in VAT revenues to $805.53 million, the 34.48% decrease in customs revenues to $559.99 million and the 17.65% contraction in miscellaneous tax revenues to $2,828.56 million. Similarly, the drop in non-tax revenues is mainly attributed to the 56.53% contraction in telecom revenues to $199.00 million. Concurrently, government expenditures (Budget & Treasury) (including debt service) fell by 18.55% on an annual basis to about $8.68 billion by August 2020 as debt service dwindled by 57.88% to $1.39 billion in the aftermath of the government’s decision to suspend Eurobond payments. In addition, budget expenditures over previous years dropped by 6.32% to around $1.27 billion, while transfers to Electricité Du Liban (EDL) contracted by 37.09% to $631.39 million as a result of the shambolic drop in oil prices. On the other hand, treasury expenditures increased by 30.05% y-o-y to $1,030.51 million. Consequently, the deficit to total expenditures ratio expanded to 29.21% by August 2020, compared to 27.70% in the same period last year.