LONDON, United Kingdom — Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde speaks at the Bank of England’s ‘Independence 20 years on’ conference, in central London on September 29. (Photo: AFP
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Friday urged the United States to proceed with a tax overhaul, saying it was “desperately needed” to boost growth in the world’s largest economy.
“Tax reform is a must. Tax reform in the US is imperative,” Lagarde said on CNBC.
“It has to be simpler. It has to be at lower corporate rates,” she added.
“It has to eliminate all the exemptions and the exonerations and the various exceptions that make the system so complicated.”
The remarks come as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund prepare to stage their annual meetings with member countries next week in Washington.
Republican leaders last month unveiled plans for a sweeping tax overhaul, which would be the first in more than 30 years and calls for slashing corporate rates and simplifying deductions available to individuals.
Opposition Democrats and other critics have denounced the plan as a giveaway to the rich which will balloon deficits and cost many trillions in revenue over the coming decades.
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