Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said tax increases passed by parliament on Monday to fund a public sector salary hike were necessary to avoid a collapse in the Lebanese pound. "Without taxes it would have been better in popular terms, but six months later the lira would have collapsed," Reuters cited Hariri as saying. Lebanon’s had parliament passed a contentious tax law designed to fund a public sector salary increase on Monday, Lebanese media said. Lebanon’s parliament approved a $917 million (698.24 million pounds) rise in public sector salaries and a series of tax increases to fund it in July. But in September Lebanon’s constitutional council annulled the tax law after a political party brought a legal challenge and referred it back to parliament for amendments.