by 0. 7 percentage points, exceeding 40 per cent for the first time ; interest payments remain stable at 5 per cent of gdp. the ratio of tax and social security receipts to gdp diminishes by 0. 3 percentage points, to 43 per cent. the change in the ratio of fiscal revenue to gdp reflects, on the one hand, the reliefs introduced in 2008 ( regarding municipal property tax and personal income tax on primary residences, overtime work and productivity bonuses ) and the full phasing in of those established by the budget for 2007 ( in particular, the relief regarding the regional tax on productive activities levied on labour costs ) and, on the other, the increase in revenue deriving from the measures contained in the june decree law ( 112 / 2008 ). according to the official estimates, structural net borrowing, calculated net of the effects of one - off measures and cyclically adjusted, will increase by 0. 6 percentage points of gdp compared with 2007, to 2. 3 per cent. the debt is expected to amount to 103. 9 per cent of gdp, virtually the same as at the end of 2007. in the first five months of the year the general government borrowing requirement amounted to €38. 5 billion, €7. 1 billion less than in the corresponding period of 2007. the improvement reflected the significant growth in revenue, to which some extraordinary factors contributed. tax revenue recorded in the state budget grew by 6. 2 per cent ( €8. 2 billion ) in the first five months of 2008 compared with the year - earlier period. excluding the effects of the abolition of the payment on account by tax collection agents, decided last year, the increase can be estimated at 3 per cent. receipts from withholding tax on payrolls and pensions increased by 9 per cent ( €4. 6 billion ), reflecting some contract renewals and the associated back pay as well as the high elasticity of revenue to the growth in the tax base. the increase in vat receipts was particularly small ( 1. 5 per cent ) ; it was probably affected by the complete utilization in 2008 of the changes in the deductibility of vat on expenses connected with company cars, resulting from the 2006 decision of the european court of justice. social security contributions are rising fast, partly owing to the full effects of the rules governing severance pay accrued by employees who have not adhered to supplementary pension schemes. the available data on self - assessed tax payments in june indicate a reduction in

to centralize operations of many of their mission critical applications, such as fedwire, automated clearing house ( ach ), and accounting. continued technological advance, as well as further consolidation in the financial services industry, is likely to lead to further specialization among regional federal reserve banks. new strategic planning activities in the face of accelerating change, the federal reserve recently recognized the need for a more comprehensive planning framework. in 1995, a system strategic planning coordinating group was appointed, consisting of board members, reserve bank presidents and senior managers, representing the full range of the federal reserve ’ s activities. this group produced an “ umbrella ” framework, designed to enable the board, the reserve banks and product and support offices to produce their own more detailed plans and decision documents under the “ umbrella. ” this framework, which is the basis for the document submitted to the house and senate banking committees, sets forth the mission of the federal reserve referred to above. it also discusses the “ values ” of the federal reserve, the goals and objectives of the fed, key assumptions, as well as the external and internal factors that could affect the achievement of those goals and objectives. with the overall framework as a reference point, strategic planning activities are proceeding with new energy at the reserve banks, at the board, and with respect to cross - cutting major functions such as the payments system and bank supervision and regulation. individual reserve banks have reviewed their operations from the ground up and reassessed their structure and effectiveness in carrying out their missions. some of the banks have launched fundamental re - engineering efforts that are resulting in substantial changes in management structure and operations. the federal reserve bank of chicago calls its effort “ fresh look ” ; the federal reserve bank of cleveland is engaged in “ transformation : 2000. ” board planning and budgeting at the board, we have restructured the annual planning and budget process to put more emphasis on planning ( and less on detailed line - item budgeting ), to lengthen the planning and budgeting horizon, and to involve the board itself more heavily in setting priorities. to this end, we have established a budget committee of the board ( consisting of myself and governors phillips and kelley ) assisted by a staff planning group drawn from across the major functions of the board. we are working with a four - year planning horizon and intend to produce the board ’ s first biennial budget ( 1998 / 1999 ) to go into effect on january 1, 1998. our hope is that the new process and structure will give the board a