FISCAL REFORM AND OTHER ECONOMC DEVELOPMENTS IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 005418 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR A/S SHANNON STATE FOR WHA/MEX, WHA/EPSC, EB/IFD/OMA, AND DRL/AWH STATE FOR EB/ESC MCMANUS AND IZZO USDOC FOR 4320/ITA/MAC/WH/ONAFTA/GERI WORD USDOC FOR ITS/TD/ENERGY DIVISION TREASURY FOR IA (ALICE FAIBISHENKO, ANNA JEWEL) DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS KDEUTSCH AND ALOCKWOOD NSC FOR RICHARD MILES, DAN FISK STATE PASS TO USTR (EISSENSTAT/MELLE) STATE PASS TO FEDERAL RESERVE (CARLOS ARTETA) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ELAB EFIN PINR PGOV MX SUBJECT: FISCAL REFORM AND OTHER ECONOMC DEVELOPMENTS IN MEXICO REF: MEXICO 5044 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Finance Secretariat is preparing a presidential decree that it says will "refine some of the details" of the recently passed fiscal reform package. The decree will adjust the way inventories accumulated by yearend are treated, and gives special treatment to maquiladoras. The government published five of the seven components of the fiscal reform in the Official Gazette on October 1. The two remaining parts pertain to federalism and constitutional reforms. The former will be published in mid-December so the 5.5% gasoline and diesel tax hike will come into effect on January 1, 2008, and the latter is in the process of being ratified in the state legislatures. A Hacienda official told econoff that he does not see another tax reform during President Calderon's term. Standard & Poor's on October 8 upgraded Mexico's sovereign debt rating, citing an improved outlook for tax collection, a better debt profile, and the recent cooperation among political parties pushing reforms through Congress. Consumer price inflation rose a slightly less-than-expected 0.78% in September, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.79%. The Chamber of Deputies will vote on the revenue portion of the 2008 budget package by next week. END SUMMARY. Government To Issue Supplemental Decree on Fiscal Reform -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Finance Secretariat (Hacienda) is preparing a presidential decree that will include new deductions for the Single Rate Corporate Tax (IETU),which will mainly benefit maquiladoras and the concessionaires of the highway system, according to local press reports. A mid-level Hacienda official told econoff on October 10 that the decree is needed to "refine some of the details" of the recently passed fiscal reform package (see reftel). He explained that the decree has two main parts. First, Hacienda is going to adjust the way inventories accumulated by December 31, 2007 are treated. Second, they are going to give special treatment to maquiladoras. Agreement has been reached on the former initiative, but the latter is still under discussion. The Hacienda official remarked that the decree will be published in the coming weeks. ¶3. (SBU) This decree should come as no surprise to the private sector. During an Ernst & Young-sponsored tax conference on September 25, companies called on Hacienda to clarify some aspects of the fiscal reform, including parts related to inventories and how companies will report fiscal losses before 2008. At the conference, Ernst & Young representatives said they expected the government to issue changes and clarifications through decrees, reforms to tax laws, or changes to the "Miscelanea Fiscal" -- tax regulations that will be approved along with the budget package in November. Additional Tax Reforms on Hold Until Next Sexenio? -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Despite the Finance Secretary's public calls for additional reforms, the same mid-level Hacienda official told econoff that he does not see the need for another fiscal reform at this time. He believes tax reform will be addressed again in five years when another president with more political capital is in office. He remarked that collection of the value-added tax (VAT) will improve due to changes implemented in the fiscal reform. He added that if tax evasion continues at the current rate, then the government would be forced to take action before it leaves office. He remarked that the next fiscal reform initiative would have to include efforts to tax consumption through the VAT. Businessmen have argued that the recently passed reform MEXICO 00005418 002 OF 003 hit them particularly hard because the government did not want to tackle the politically sensitive VAT. Part of Fiscal Reform Published in Official Gazette -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) The government published five of the seven components of the fiscal reform in the Official Gazette on October 1. The two remaining parts pertain to federalism and constitutional reforms. The former will be published in mid-December so the 5.5% gasoline and diesel tax hike will come into effect on January 1, 2008, and the latter is in the process of being ratified in the state legislatures. S&P Upgrades Mexico -------------- ¶6. (U) Standard & Poor's on October 8 upgraded Mexico's sovereign debt rating, citing an improved outlook for tax collection, a better debt profile, and the recent cooperation among political parties pushing reforms through Congress. S&P raised Mexico's long-term foreign currency credit rating from BBB to BBB -- the third-lowest investment grade rating -- bringing S&P's rating in line with ratings from Moody's and Fitch. It also increased Mexico's long-term local currency credit rating from A to A . The move was discounted by markets. Bank of Mexico Deputy Governor Guillermo Guemez said publicly that the upgrade would help reduce interest rates. Inflation Falls Slightly in September -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Consumer price inflation rose a slightly less-than-expected 0.78% in September, bringing the annual inflation rate to 3.79%, down from 4.03% the previous month. The figure was driven by higher food prices and seasonally high educational costs. Annual core inflation fell from 3.86% in August to 3.80% last month. These readings, along with government policies aimed at containing energy and bread prices this year, reduce pressure on the Bank of Mexico (BOM) to tighten monetary policy. Nonetheless, market analysts have not ruled out a 25-50 basis point rate hike by December. An economist at HSBC told econoff that he does not see the BOM lifting rates at its policy meeting on October 26, but rather waiting to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts rates on October 30/31. He added that if the BOM decides to hike rates this month, it will be because it wants to send the message that it will not tolerate concerns about high food prices contaminating wage settlements or other prices in the economy. Budget Negotiations on Track -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The mid-level Hacienda official told econoff that the Chamber of Deputies will vote on the revenue portion of the 2008 budget package late this week, or early next week (Note: local press reports say the vote will take place on October 18. The Chamber of Deputies has until the 20th to approve the Revenue Bill and send it to the Senate, which has until October 31 to ratify it. End Note.) He remarked that negotiations have centered on how to spend the revenue generated from fiscal reform. He noted that some members of Congress were trying to increase the oil price estimate used in the government's budget proposal (US$46.60 per barrel) to around US$50 per barrel. He said they were incorrectly using the formula specified in the budget law for setting the price of oil. In the end, he said they agreed to increase the oil price estimate by approximately US$1 per barrel, which would boost total revenues by $7 billion pesos. MEXICO 00005418 003 OF 003 Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / BASSETT