2 % Tax Ruined Govt's Credibility: Economist Steve Hanke

Renowned international economic expert Steve Hanke says the government of Zimbabwe did not have to introduce the 2 per cent in order to revive the economy. He said what is needed is to introduce the right policies without necessarily causing the people to suffer. in an exclusive interview with the Daily News Hanke, had this to say

This idea that you have to have the pain to move forward, no, you just have to have the right policies and when you have the right policies and everything will move forward in a right way. I have done this in many countries and in many places.

You do not tax your way into a recovery and you don’t surprise people with a two percent tax, that ruins your credibility. Credibility is everything in economics and political economy and if you don’t have credibility you don’t have confidence and it’s a real problem.

It’s like going to a witch doctor and saying you have a problem and the witch doctor says, “this cure is going to hurt you but make you feel better when it’s done.” That’s the kind of doctor we are talking about. If you got a doctor, they fix the problem and the pain goes away and this is the idea of putting economic policies and I indicated many times that the Singapore strategy is what they should do.

More: Daily News