Philippe Stauffer 29th IARIW Conference Session 7 A SNA (2) A. Braakmann, Th. Forster: Experiences in Europe in Updating the SNA: The Government Sector Swiss Federal Statistical Office Philippe Stauffer 29th IARIW Conference Session 7 A SNA (2) 26.05.2019

4 issues are investigated Government owned assets and capital services Accrual accounting of taxes Public-private partnerships Granting and activation of guarantees 26.05.2019

1. Government owned assets and Capital services AEG recommendation Introduce a return on capital used for non-market production. Impact - Higher value-added, operating surplus, disposable income, consumption expenditure of GVT. - No impact on Net lending/borrowing of GVT. Implementation issues 1. Appropriate data on capital stock of non- market producers. 2. Appropriate rate of return. Outcomes - 19 European countries cannot compile appropriate rate of return due to lack of data. - Lack of harmonised price indices. 26.05.2019

2. Accrual accounting of taxes Various procedures to calculate tax revenues on accrual basis: 1. Model estimations 2. Shifting data 3. Cash data = accrual data. Choice of method linked to characteristics of tax. Results basically sound. 26.05.2019

3. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) Central question: allocation of PPPs. Allocation may be based on risk distribution between the public and private partners. Eurostat identified three categories of risk. Implementation problems: 1. Complexity of contracts 2. No obligation to report 3. Marked lack of information at local level 4. Enormous work-load Issue should not be presented in extensive way in updated SNA 26.05.2019

4. Granting and activation of guarantees Current treatment - Granting not recorded. - Call of guarantee Financial accounts - If amount cancelled Capital transfer Proposal - Liability when guarantee is granted. - Recommended use of insurance model. Implementation issues - Proxies have to be used. - Absolutely no information on some items. - Tricky treatment when central government is reimbursed for past guarantees. Proposal Use a simpler approach. 26.05.2019

Questions to the authors (A. Braakmann, Th. Forster): Impact of real rate of return for capital services : Is govern-ment a special case, or are these problems also valid for the economy as a whole ? Magnitude of change (+/-0,5%): the changes to GDP growth over time are mainly due to changes in the real rate of return. What about the annual profile ? PPP’s: Why not adopt a convention ? 3. Granting/activation of guarantees: Doesn’t government provide any service at all ? What is the true nature of the asset of general government (“claim against the importer”)? 26.05.2019