Lebanon Must Tighten Tax, Avoid ‘Overheating’ Economy, IMF Says

Lebanon must tighten its budget and avoid “overheating” an economy that has maintained growth through the global financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund said.

The government should “consider tax measures, including income-tax reform and broadening of the value-added tax,” the Washington-based lender said in a report published on its website today. It urged Lebanon to “reduce budgetary transfers to the electricity sector” and “manage the buoyant economy cautiously to avoid overheating and to prevent the buildup of new vulnerabilities.”