Economy minister lays out plan to soften blow from coming sales tax hike

What a load of collop. Everything should be 10% so we can buy a couple of US aircraft carriers and a big bundle of F-35s

Bla, bla, bla! These so-called ‘offsets’ mean absolutely nothing to the majority of people. Once again we see what’s left of the middle class getting screwed over by the J-Governement. Nothing is ever taken from the high income earners. Remember how the last sales tax increase was ‘offset’ by huge tax cuts for corporations, which was ‘supposed to be’ passed on as salary increases with an ‘urge’ from the government? It never happened! They will not be content until the middle class has completely gone! Then Japan will return to how it used to be, the bureaucrats and the commoners. (AKA: Us and them)

... public works spending...

All the useless public works spending over the past 50 years is a major reason why the government finances are in such a bad situation now.

Public works spending = payments to a few government friends for indeed concrete rivers and raids to nowhere. Does nothing for the average person.

why not bring it in as 8% , 9% , 10%

I'm not alone, and I'd as a citizen like to politely ask "where is the Finance minister?" Buckets of money for boats with airplanes but not enough money for child care? Not enough for retirement homes, not enough for work/life. Please get my understanding. Roads are crap, bridges not looking so good. The idea of softening a theft is in itself criminal. Loads of money just not enough for families.

Rice farmers get a bonus for being unproductive, whale hunters get a subsidy for freezing unwanted blubber. Yet have a family....that's going to cost you.

... public works spending...

All the useless public works spending over the past 50 years is a major reason why the government finances are in such a bad situation now.

Public works spending = payments to a few government friends for indeed concrete rivers and raids to nowhere. Does nothing for the average person.

Agree in part but this has always been pork-barrel spending. Along with subsidies to farmers, the doken kokka or construction state has been a major job program in the hinterlands for decades, which coincidentally is where a huge swath of disproportionately elected LDP pols hail from. So, it's not merely their industry cronies. Cut that money off and where will those votes go?

the useless public works spending ... is a major reason why the government finances are in such a bad situation now.

I’d say a minor reason.

Today, the government budget for public works is a few percentages of overall spending, and sure there is some useless spending, but it’s not the elephant in the room.

For a 100 trillion of spending, tax revenues are 65 trillion.

The 35 trillion that is borrowed is about the same as is spent in “social security” type programs.

A new government could slash the public works spending but we’d still be looking at a 30 trillion yen deficit, annually.

Massive reforms to spending across the board are required to address the deficit.

Slash spending on the middle to upper class people - who can take care of themselves, and focus the 65 trillion of tax funds on the poor, and other key necessities. The people who can pay for themselves, should. As one such person, I’d be happy to do so for the good of this place’s finances.

But don’t tax me more. Tax me the same or less, and stop giving money back to me in middle-to upper class perks such as cash backs on my home loan.

There shouldn't be any tax on food.