TOKYO -- Japan needs to raise its consumption tax further to fund growing social security costs, the International Monetary Fund recommended Monday, as its chief endorsed stimulus steps the country is weighing amid the global economic slowdown.
The tax "would need to increase gradually" to 15% by 2030 and 20% by 2050, the IMF said in a report. It offered a more specific timeline than a 2018 report that called for a gradual increase to 15%.
