“Belgium, tighten your belt!”

The IMF suggests the Belgian government should cut its spending plans.

The Washington-based organisation believes Belgium can do it by cutting subsidies, a more efficient distribution of the work among Belgium’s various tiers of government, by speeding up job cuts in the public sector and increased checks on benefits.

The IMF forecasts that the 2017 budget deficit will rise to 3% of national output and this is above the EU target. The terrorist threat helped to put the budget off course but the IMF also warns that some elements of the tax shift away from labour remain unfinished.

The organisation stresses that economic growth may not be allowed to falter. Tackling mobility issues could be an important issue here as congestion on our roads is impacting on investments and employment.

Flandersnews.be / Expatica