SAO PAULO, Brazil, July 28 (Reuters) - A government plan to kick-start Brazil's stalled auto sector should be implemented this year and include tax credits for car makers and cheaper financing for consumers, the country's planning minister said on Monday.
The measures are aimed at reversing a sharp downturn in auto sales in Brazil that have led to a recent round of job cuts at automakers such as Germany's Volkswagen AG .
"There are some legal and tax details" that need to be worked out, Planning Minister Guido Mantega told reporters after speaking at a seminar in Sao Paulo.
"Once these are solved, (the plan) will be put into practice."
Mantega said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had authorized the plan and asked that a task force made up of representatives from the chief of staff's office and finance, development and planning ministries be set up to work on it.
Auto sales fell 8 percent in the first half of the year as consumers stayed away from dealerships given the high cost of financing a car purchase and general economic instability.
To counteract the slowdown, many auto makers have given their workers temporary leave or tried to lay them off.
Last week, Volkswagen announced it would slash nearly 4,000 jobs and General Motors Corp. said it would cut 450 jobs, although the U.S. auto giant later reversed its decision after employees threatened to strike in protest.
Mantega said the government would not necessarily lose out if it gives consumers or car makers tax breaks to revive the sector.
"Whatever we lose at first we make up later with any business we create," he said.
Ford Motor Co. , Fiat SpA and Renault also make autos in Brazil.