THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW TAX PLAN - TAX CUTS WITHOUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUDAPEST 000874 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE LAMORE AND EB/OMA, AND INR/EC TREASURY FOR JEFF BAKER AND LARRY NORTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV HU EFIN SUBJECT: THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW TAX PLAN - TAX CUTS WITHOUT SPENDING CUTS REF: BUDAPEST 809 ¶1. (U) Summary. The GOH unveiled its multi-year USD 7 billion tax cut plan last week. Under the plan the government proposes to remove the unpopular 4 percent "solidarity tax" on businesses and to reduce employer social security contributions for lower wage employees, but it also intends to increase the corporate tax rate from 16 to 18 percent. The plan would also reduce the tax burden for low wage earners by raising the 18 percent personal income tax bracket. The government intends to finance the cuts through "tight budget planning" and by reducing the high level of tax avoidance in Hungary. While economic analysts have expressed general support for tax cuts to help stimulate growth, they believe the government plan does not go far enough, maintaining that it should include expenditure cuts and meaningful reform of the pension and public assistance systems in order to promote employment and growth in Hungary. They are also skeptical of the government's ability to finance the tax cuts through a reduction in tax avoidance levels. The minority Socialist government currently lacks room to maneuver on pension and social welfare reform - as well as the support of its erstwhile coalition partner Free Democrats - as its tax cut plan and its 2009 budget move toward debate on the floor of Parliament. End summary. THE PRIME MINISTER'S TAX CUT PLAN ¶2. (U) On August 26, Prime Minister Gyurcsany announced a three to four-year plan to cut taxes by USD 6.2 to 7.4 billion (HUF 1,000 - 1,200 billion). The plan initially aims to reduce tax revenue by HUF 300 billion (1 percent of GDP) in 2009, and to increase the level of tax cuts thereafter. ¶3. (U) In the first year, the plan would eliminate the 4 percent so-called "solidarity tax" on businesses, but would raise the corporate tax rate from 16 to 18 percent. Other key cuts would include raising the income level of individuals who fall into the 18 percent personal income tax bracket, and reducing employer social security contributions by 5 percent for low wage employees. ¶4. (U) Contrary to speculation prior to the announcement, no change in the VAT level is being proposed. In addition, few expenditure cuts are proposed as offsetting measures, and the government estimates that 60 percent of the 2009 tax cut will be financed through "extremely tight budget planning" where expenditures would not increase in real terms. ¶5. (U) The Prime Minister hopes to finance the rest of the tax cut through a further "whitening" of the economy - reducing the number of people who either do not report income, or who report only a portion of their actual income. (Note: This continues to be a major problem in Hungary. Recent estimates suggest that unreported employment in Hungary amounts to as much as 20 percent of GDP, and informal estimates often range much higher. End note.) To achieve this goal, Gyurcsany's plan includes a one-time "amnesty" for individuals who previously under-reported their income, and a "no tolerance" policy for tax avoiders thereafter. ¶6. (U) Other sources of increased government revenue would include a 10 percent increase in the excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, an additional healthcare contribution for benefits in kind, and a change to the taxation scheme relating to company vehicles. ¶7. (SBU) Researchers and analysts are generally supportive of the tax reductions, in particular the elimination of the solidarity tax, which "serves the competitiveness of businesses," but as KOPINT-TARKI director Eva Palocz puts it, "the stimulating effect (of the government plan) is minor." Istvan Hamecz, CEO of OTP Fund Management agrees, noting that neither the extent of the tax cut nor the direction of other measures will attract additional workers to enter the labor market. Most analysts agree that the plan does not go far enough to significantly increase growth or increase Hungary's low labor participation rate, and question how the government can pay for it without major cuts in expenditures. WHAT'S NOT IN THE PLAN ¶8. (SBU) In addition to its lack of spending cuts, the plan also does not seek to reform the pension or social welfare benefit systems. According to Prime Minister Gyurcsany - who we understand wrote the public roll-out of the plan himself, the "social implications" of doing so "would be much graver BUDAPEST 00000874 002 OF 003 than the country could tolerate or support." Economic analysts criticize the plan's failure to address underlying issues they see as impeding economic growth in Hungary. Citibank analyst Eszter Gargyan notes that, "without a major tightening of social benefits" the plan fails to "resolve the underlying weaknesses in the economy that are related to low labor participation, high public expenditure, and high tax avoidance." As former Central Bank Governor Gyorgy Suranyi told the Ambassador, the government's plan "to reduce taxes without hurting anyone" is unrealistic, and Suranyi believes it would "almost be preferable to focus exclusively on deficit reduction" rather than undertake a plan that is "not ambitious." WHITHER THE CONVERGENCE PROGRAM? ¶9. (U) International analysts including Standard and Poor,s have questioned the plan's impact on Hungary's "Convergence Program." Although the Prime Minister has pledged to continue the budget path toward budget deficits of no more than 3.2 percent in 2009, and 2.7 percent in 2010, some analysts believe that the lack of clear expenditure cuts in the tax plan (and the over-reliance on the projected economic "whitening" effect by reducing the number of tax avoiders) increases the risk that the deficit will overshoot the Convergence Program goals, particularly in the 2010 election year. Others are more circumspect, however, and believe that the government is unlikely to undermine its efforts over the last two years to bring the deficit under control. In addition, under the government's plan, later year tax cuts will only take place if the government is successful in deriving additional income from its economic whitening efforts. FEWER TAX EVADERS? ¶10. (SBU) While the government has enjoyed some success toward this goal through more aggressive tax law enforcement (reftel),there is a debate over whether the tax changes in the current proposal will promote less tax avoidance. The plan envisions a one-time tax amnesty for tax avoiders, followed by a "zero-tolerance" policy thereafter. The current tax system tends to incentivize the underreporting of wages by offering employers of minimum wage workers disproportionately low tax and social security contribution rates. This will continue under the government's plan. Indeed, Gyula Toth of UniCredit argues that, "the new threshold in the social security contribution may provide even more incentives for tax avoidance." Gyorgy Suranyi agrees, noting that the proposal "does not improve the situation at all", because the highest tax rate of 38 percent still starts at a level below the average monthly wage. Standard and Poor's, while noting that the proposed tax cuts are "generally a move in the right direction," argues that financing the tax cuts from revenue generated by reducing the number of tax avoiders is ultimately "not credible." COURTING THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS ¶11. (SBU) Commentators speculate that the Prime Minister's tax plan was designed in large part to win support of the former coalition partner Free Democrat (SzDSz) party, which it needs in order to garner a majority in Parliament to pass both the tax law changes and the 2009 budget. As one analyst commented, "SzDSz asked for a HUF 1,000 billion tax cut, and the Prime Minister delivered." Others have called the tax proposal "the Socialist Party's marriage proposal to SzDSz". Based on the initial negative reaction from SzDSz to the tax proposal, however, it appears that SzDSz is not ready to take another trip to the altar. SzDSz President Gabor Fodor argues that the country needs "structural changes," and not more of the government's "stop-and-go policy." (Note: See septel for a discussion of the current political context). COMMENT ¶12. (SBU) Although the government would likely be willing to modify its tax plan as it continues to court SzDSz, the Free Democrats have not been clear on what it would take to win their support - assuming they actually know. But there will be clear limits to the MSzP's flexibility: the Socialists will likely remain unwilling (or unable, according to Gyurcsany) to propose major spending cuts or reform to the pension or social benefit systems. This puts the government - once again - in the position of overemphasizing a plan that underdelivers. With submission of its tax proposal to Parliament required by September 15, and its budget by BUDAPEST 00000874 003 OF 003 September 30, the two issues are likely to dominate the legislative agenda in the weeks ahead. End comment. Foley