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BCN-26
LIBERIA-ECONOMY-POVERTY-INFLATION-IMPORTS
Liberia slashes import tax to fight inflation
MONROVIA, May 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Liberia’s new president, George Weah,
on Wednesday called for a large cut in import duty on more than 2,000 basic
goods to help fight the country’s inflation, the government said.
He tasked the commerce and industry ministry with making cuts of between
40 and 81 percent in import taxes on “over 2,000 widely-consumed
commodities,” the information ministry said in a statement.
Weah, who came to international renown as a star in European football, was
elected on December on an anti-poverty ticket, vowing to fight inflation that
is especially hitting the country’s poorest.
On Wednesday, the Liberian dollar was changing hands at 160 to the US
dollar — in June 2017, it was 100 for $1. Both are legal currencies in
Liberia.
Liberia is one of the poorest countries of the world. It imports the vast
majority of its food, and wholesale imports and taxes are payable in US
dollars only.
BSS/AFP/HR/1140