In its efforts to address the grim situation that the economy and financial system are in, the Government of Lebanon published in April 2020 a financial recovery plan aimed at restoring confidence and putting the country back on a long term sustainable path. Most importantly, the program pointed at forcefully addressing “fiscal and financial imbalances” – the main pillars of the scheme that has fueled Lebanon’s downfall. These imbalances were addressed within one of the nine central headlines targeted at fiscal adjustment and focused on improving tax compliance, streamlining expenditures, and reforming the public sector. Unfortunately, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]the government has failed to embark on immediate reforms to create fiscal space and support existing social safety nets despite the impact of the compounded crises falling hardest on the poor and the vulnerable.[/inlinetweet] As such, we address in this article the need and means to create this space and prioritize a
