C-AL3-00272: IMPORT DUTIES HAVE DECLINING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 000896 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/ESPC, DRL/IL, AND EB/IFD/OMA STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN STATE PASS USTR FOR ANDREA GASH DURKIN TREASURY FOR JOHN JENKINS DOL FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINR EFIN ETRD ECON ELAB HO SUBJECT: C-AL3-00272: IMPORT DUTIES HAVE DECLINING IMPORTANCE IN HONDURAN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET REF: (a) STATE 76257 (b) TEGUCIGALPA 546 (c) TEGUCIGALPA 865 (d) TEGUCIGALPA 494 (e) TEGUCIGALPA 225 (f) TEGUCIGALPA 010 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Honduran trade liberalization over the past 13 years has resulted in a declining dependence on import duties and other taxes on international trade. In 2002, revenue from import duties had dropped to only 2.2 percent of GDP and an estimated 12.2 percent of total tax revenue (excluding taxes on oil products). The gap has been made up, primarily, by an increase in the sales tax rate. Given that about 55 percent of Honduran imports come from the United States, a CAFTA-related reduction in import duties would be significant but manageable for the government. There has been no discussion to date on the likely way of compensating for the revenue from CAFTA (or eventual FTAA) tariff reductions; measures are likely to involve elimination of remaining tax exemptions or a small increase in the sales tax rate. End Summary. 2.(SBU) Ref a requested reporting on the effect that a loss of tariff revenue would have on government budgets following the implementation of the U.S.-Central American free trade agreement (CAFTA). Reftels b through f provide extensive reporting on the 2003 budget (currently under substantial revision),the government's fiscal difficulties and efforts to confront them. In addition, a recent report by an IDB- funded team on Honduran tax policy provides useful historical data on the trends in customs duties receipts over the past 13 years that can be used to project the direct impact of tariff revenue losses, once the basic parameters of the CAFTA agreement are agreed. These data are provided below. ¶3. (SBU) Since the early 1990s, Honduras has transformed the structure of its taxation of trade. Export taxes have been eliminated, and substituted with export promotion policies (including the granting of extensive investment incentives such as tax exemptions). High tariff barriers to imports have been progressively dismantled in conjunction with other countries in the region and the Central American Common Market. As of 2002, Honduras had 5,982 eight-digit tariff schedule line items, of which 5,169 registered some imports. There were 13 tariff levels in the tariff schedule, with an average nominal rate of 6.5 percent (and a trade weighted average of 8.4 percent in 2000). Most tariffs are now between 0 and 15 percent. As of 2001, 73 percent of Honduras's tariff schedule was harmonized with the rest of Central America (and further harmonization was achieved in 2002). Tariff dispersion in 2002 was a relatively healthy 7.4 percent. ¶4. (SBU) Accordingly, customs duties in Honduras have dropped progressively since 1990 as a percentage of both GDP and total tax revenue. Import and export duties fell from 5.6 percent of GDP in 1990 to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2001 and an estimated 2.2 percent of GDP in 2002. Similarly, import and export taxes fell from 37.5 percent of total tax revenue in 1990 to only 15.2 percent in 2001 (and 12.2 percent of total tax revenue if oil import taxes are excluded). The lowering of customs duties in Honduras in the 1990s was accompanied by an increase in the sales tax rate to 12 percent for most products. As can be seen by the chart below, by 2000, sales tax revenues had replaced import duties as the most important source of government revenues. Table 1 International Trade Tax Revenues 1990 1995 2000 2001 2002 (millions of nominal Lempira) Total trade 707.2 1607.2 2088.2 2448.1 2437.7 Imports 493.2 1429.5 2082.8 2448.1 2437.7 Oil 58.4 323.5 297.0 598.4 708.0 Other 434.8 1106.0 1785.8 1849.7 1729.7 Exports 214.0 177.7 5.4 0.0 0.0 (percent of GDP) Total Trade 5.6 4.3 2.4 2.5 2.2 Imports 3.9 2.8 2.4 2.5 2.2 Oil 0.5 0.9 0.3 0.6 0.6 Other 3.5 2.9 2.0 1.9 1.6 Exports 1.7 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 (percent of tax revenue) Total Taxes 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Income 22.8 28.5 19.9 22.0 22.7 Property 0.8 0.8 1.3 1.1 1.0 Cap.Gains 0.0 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.0 Sales 18.2 20.6 35.2 33.2 35.2 Selective 13.4 15.1 11.2 12.0 10.9 Services 4.8 3.8 17.6 16.2 17.6 Trade 37.5 24.8 14.3 15.2 12.5 Other 2.4 5.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 ¶5. (SBU) Revenue projections from the GOH's 2003 Central Government budget are shown below. These numbers are expected to change significantly as a result of the adoption of new tax measures on April 2 (see ref b). The GOH hopes that these measures will add as much as 2 billion lempiras (usd 118 million) to the budget in 2003 and 3.5 billion lempiras (usd 206 million) in 2004 and thereafter. Table 2 Central Government Revenue Projections 2003 Budget Millions Pct of lempira Total Total Revenue 32944.0 100.0 Tax Revenue 19803.0 60.0 Income Tax 4315.0 13.0 Property Tax 212.0 .6 Sales and Consumption 9267.0 28.0 Services 3357.7 10.0 Import Duties 2608.0 8.0 Other 44.0 0.0 Non-Tax Revenue 1163.0 3.5 Goods and Services 16.0 0.0 Property Income 79.0 0.2 Aid and Donations 1447.0 4.5 Capital Revenues 3445.0 10.5 Financing 6988.0 21.0 ¶6. (SBU) Approximately 55 percent of Honduran imports come from the United States. Thus, the reduction in import duties on imports from the United States expected after CAFTA would be a significant revenue reduction during this period of high deficits; however, it would be manageable. A very rough estimate would indicate a revenue loss of about usd 80 million per year if all tariffs were eliminated immediately. During 2002 and 2003, the government has attempted to offset the continued reduction in customs duties receipts with measures aimed at broadening the tax base (reducing exemptions from income and sales tax). There has been no discussion to date on the likely way of compensating for CAFTA (or eventual FTAA) tariff reductions. It is possible that the GOH would propose an increase in the sales tax rate. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The IDB consultants, in a February briefing for Econcouns and USAID economist, also noted their belief that in addition to the reduction in customs duty revenue, the trade liberalization in the CAFTA agreement will provoke additional GOH spending or tax breaks as "compensation" to sectors negatively affected by increased competition. This is a possibility, as the Honduran Congress has consistently shown its willingness to enact special legislation for individual sectors. However, the current critical fiscal problems and the likelihood of fairly strict fiscal targets in a future IMF agreement will probably limit the GOH's ability to provide trade adjustment assistance to companies or individuals. On the plus side, the positive impacts from a free trade agreement -- increased investment, faster growth, and increased efficiency -- are expected to result in increased (non- tariff) government revenues as well. As noted above, the GOH also traditionally has provided significant export promotion incentives in the form of exemptions from a range of taxes. To the extent that the GOH agrees in the course of the CAFTA negotiations to reduce some of these investment incentives, this would also have a positive effect on the government's tax revenues. End Comment. PALMER