It can probably plug the gap through clever accounting and rises in other taxes.
Third, the economic downturn in Europe and elsewhere means that fewer people are willing to splurge for new televisions even if they are cheap.The problem has been simmering for years, but clever accounting masked the worst.
One crucial move was to shift assets off its books at the end of each quarter in exchange for cash through a clever accounting maneuver, called Repo 105, to make its leverage levels look lower than they were.
Amazon and Starbucks have faced consumer boycotts for using clever accounting tricks to book profits in tax havens while reducing their bills in the countries where they do business.
But there are growing signs that China's long-running economic boom could be undermined by these building binges, which are financed through heavy borrowing by local governments and clever accounting that masks the true size of the debt.
More and more huge corporations have found ways by clever accounting to reduce their tax liabilities and vast amounts of cash are accumulating in the Cayman Islands and other tax havens - some under the jurisdiction of the British government.
Projects that were planned as mixed-tenure neighbourhoods have seen their "affordable" housing quotas relentlessly squeezed out, thanks to the clever accounting of viability consultants and well-paid planning lawyers.
But rather than trying to cling on to the vestiges of leadership using clever accounting, Europe should be honest about what the numbers mean and accept that it can and must go further.
"As in the case of Enron, we're trying to determine if some clever accounting hocus-pocus created an illusion of profitability," said Ken Johnson, a spokesman for Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
