Bahrain: Manama shies away from austerity measures


Issue 1080 - 10 May 2019 | 1 minute read

The government has reportedly ditched plans to reform Bahrain’s costly subsidy system amid fears that such austerity measures could provoke further public unrest. It comes just as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Manama to make further fiscal and structural reforms, to strengthen government finances and promote sustainable growth. In a report issued on 7 May, following a recent Article IV review of the economy, the IMF said it “saw merit in additional fiscal consolidation measures”, such as phasing out untargeted subsidies, introducing direct taxes and reducing the scope of exemptions to the recently introduced value-added tax (VAT).

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