A €156 billion economic plan, Solidarity Pact II, came into force in 2005, and provides the financial basis for the advancement and special promotion of the economy of the new federal states until 2019.[1] The "solidarity tax", a 5.5% surcharge on the income tax, was instated by the Kohl government to restore the infrastructure of the new states to the levels of the western ones[16] and to apportion the cost of unification as well as the expenses of the Gulf War and of European integration. The tax, which raises €11 billion a year, will be maintained until 2019 at least.[16]