March 31, 2025
Afronomicslaw Quarterly Report Launch: The Impact of IMF Recommended Consumption Tax Policy on Africa’s Rising Public Debt Levels
Date: Thursday, 3rd April 2025
Time: Chicago (USA – Illinois) 09:00 AM CDT London (United Kingdom – England) 14:00 PM GMT Nairobi (Kenya) 17:00 PM EAT Halifax 11:00 AM
Meeting Description:
Join us for the launch of Afronomicslaw’s latest quarterly report, "The Impact of IMF Recommended Consumption Tax Policy on Africa’s Rising Public Debt Levels" by Marie-Louise Aren. This report critically explores the IMF’s consumption tax policies and their adverse effects on borrower nations, particularly in Africa and the Global South. It examines how the IMF’s emphasis on consumption taxes like VAT, when used as a tool for revenue mobilization, often leads to regressive outcomes by exacerbating inequality, increasing poverty, and contributing to unsustainable public debt.
Through an analysis of the global debt architecture evolution and a review of IMF-backed tax reforms across various regions, the report highlights the disconnect between the IMF’s policy prescriptions and the socio-economic realities of developing countries. The study underscores the need for reforming the international debt architecture to address the negative impacts of these policies and proposes recommendations for more equitable and sustainable debt and tax solutions. The session will include an author presentation and a Q&A session.