France to Simplify Spending Cuts, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated yesterday that France should not waste time in preparing detailed plans for the restoration of its economy. Christian Mumssen, director of IMF France, announced that the organization will check the government budget for 2018 next Wednesday, which is the first time under Macron’s leadership, further details will be scrutinized, particularly, the reduction of taxes and expenditure.

According to the French government, the spending will be cut down to 16 billion euros ($19 billion) for 2018 which serves as an initial installment for the savings over the five-year term of President Macron amounted to 60 billion euros. But the administration also urges to work on easing the country’s burden of considerable tax by reducing tax by 10 billion euros ($11 billion), initially.

The government finds it difficult to ease the budget balancing act, but they can rely on its strongest growth recorded last 2011. While the IMF forecasted that the economy has the tendency to gain 1.6 percent in 2017 and 1.8 percent for next year. Moreover, the national budget will be based on the growth outlook for this year and the next.

The Fund seems quite pessimistic regarding the projections on the public sector deficit, for it might remain at 3.0 percent for 2017 and 2018. On the other hand, the government predicted that the deficit for this year is expected at 2.9 percent and 2.6 percent in 2018.