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© 2013 AFPAbe to raise sales tax on schedule, media report
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© 2013 AFP
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BluesRee
Tax increase is a done deal. They're taking more money out of our pockets so that they can cover the country in more concrete.
Sue Jones
@sherman This has nothing to do with fleecing tourists as you seem to imply. The benefits would be neglible. Besides, tourists can buy large ticket items with no tax anyway. It hits those of us who live in Japan however. I laugh at suggestions from the LDP that salaries will increase to compensate. Yeah right!
Balefire
At least they're done with the meaningless and intelligence-insulting pretense of "carefully considering" whether to raise it. It has always been a foregone conclusion.
"Soften the blow" for exporters and some manufacturers, express bewilderment down the line at why salaries didn't rise for the poor working stiffs, and nod approval while prices go up along with the added burden of increased consumption tax.
Abenomics at its finest. Those who voted for the LDP, and those who didn't vote at all, deserve what they'll get, unfortunately.
Sherman
Makes it more expensive for tourists and what will the tax be in 2020 for the Olympics? Usual sly cunning plans from Japan.
rowiko68
And who will 'soften the blow' for the ordinary people???
Serrano
How much do you want to bet the Japanese government will be in even deeper debt a year after the tax is raised to 8%?
GalapagosnoGairaishu
Soften the blow by halting the tax on food and rents, so elderly pensioners don't have to eat cat food.
Jack Stern
Health insurance is going to go up. More pipe laying and road construction to give the cities their allowance for the next year. I imagine billions will be spent on Olympic construction of all kinds using that tax money.
bruinfan
Surprise surprise (not). The LDP are rather cunning since this tax was one of the biggest things that did in the *Minshuto" yet their policy is identical here.
@GalapagosnoGairaishu
I agree, but it is "too complicated" in their minds. Not that I believe it. This will put some more restuarants out of business since they operate on thin margins already. It wouldn't be so bad if food prices were similar to those of the US, Mexico, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore,etc. but they are already much higher do to reasons that I mentioned before.
ThonTaddeo
This is ridiculous. He wants to raise taxes to cover all the reckless spending he's saddling the nation with. And th he proposes to "soften the blow" by... spending even more.
A few years ago PM Noda was trying to soften the public up for this tax increase by connecting it with pensions for the elderly. Let's face it: the government wants our tax money, and they'll keep searching for politically-palatable reasons to take it until they find an excuse that the public will accept.
Now Abe is doing the same thing with inflation, which will go even further in dividing the protected rich from the vulnerable middle and poorer classes. He talks about a zero-point-one-percent decline in consumer prices as if it's some kind of disaster: not if you're an ordinary salaryman or housewife who just wants to make ends meet!
Not five years ago, as a member of the younger half of Japan's population, it was still possible to really feel that the future was somewhat bright. Employment wasn't as reliable as it was for the Boomers and their predecessors, but you could still count on having a job if you worked hard. Stable consumer prices and real estate prices meant that you could save to buy a home and not overpay for it. Taxes, while not exactly low, were reasonable. The high yen kept spikes in energy prices from getting out of control. But now? Abe and his LDP pals have made it clear who they favor, and who they plan to take advantage of. If you're under about 40, the men at the top don't care about your interests one bit. And if you're under 20, make plans to live abroad. Now.
Saxon Salute
He has never for one second really thought to not do this. He ha always planned to hike this tax. If he wanted to soften the blow, there would be exclusions for necessary food items, children's clothing etc. But he doesn't want to do that, he just wants to pass more stimulus money to his buddies, which our children and grand children will end up repaying.
daito_hak
"but will soften the blow with a 5 trillion yen stimulus package aimed at protecting a budding economic recovery, reports said Thursday."
So we are told that the sales tax increase is supposed to tackle the public debt but to hike the sales tax, the government is making more debt that is supposed to be taken care by the sales tax increase which is actually making more debt because without more debt, the sales tax increase is hurting the economy. So basically, the sales tax increase is nothing more than taxing people more in order that at the end people money ends up paying just the debt interests. The gray heads in Japan have lost their mind, they don't know what they are doing any more and only a population even more stupid than them is able to accept this frenzy.
And it's terrifying that the same gray heads in the government can't have the beginning of some intelligence to limit the sales tax increase to non vital products so that food and energy (you know the things the population spend most for) are not affected in a country where fresh food and energy is already very expensive.
Bad2Dbone
time to move away from japan , then comeback before Olympics,,,, eat that Taxes!!
oyatoi
Don`t you mean soften the blow by halting the tax on cat food, so elderly pensioners can still afford something to eat.
daito_hak
@Serrano
We can be sure for that. The last increase from 3 to 5% didn't do anything in slowing down the increase of the debt, actually the debt grew even faster .
bruinfan
@Thon
Make that if you're under 55.
WilliB
Here we go. We have to for Abes "stimulus", aka Obamanomics stupidity. And the Olympics extravaganza does not exactly help. Once the pols get away with raising shohizei, theyll get addicted to it. Wait and see.
In Scandinavian countries, they are up at 25% now; Abe will get us there too.
Sherman
Sue Jones. Try asking for a tax free hotel, meal or anything not bought in Akihabara!
kitzrow
Will some of those good at math, please send a few examples of how much we will end up paying for things. My pension is not going up!
daito_hak
21% tax so what? Again Japan is already expensive without expensive taxes. It really does not need higher taxes.
smithinjapan
Interesting how this comes JUST after the Olympic bid is confirmed. Basically what it means is that trillions will go to companies who will benefit economy from the bid going to Tokyo (without the stimulus), while everyone else suffers by increased taxes. And it's not like the money from the tax increase is going to go towards helping out your average Joe. It'll go towards construction for the Olympics first and foremost. We still haven't seen the increase in household salaries promised to us, but are already seeing a rise in cost of products (or else in the case of food smaller amounts are being put in packaging). His stimulus idea will put the Japanese government even further in debt, and then further again when its realized that, hey, making things cost more does in fact cause people to spend LESS.
JeanValJean
Repeating the same errors of the past decade-and-a-half, but on a larger scale.
The kind folks at BOJ who actually run the country(ruin?) have been hard at work expanding and reinventing the numerous LDP-led errors from the past. They've learned nothing from their repeated failures since 1987.
Explaining Japan's Recession Mises Daily: Tuesday, November 19, 2002 by Benjamin Powell
http://mises.org/daily/1099
bruinfan
Should be "due to reasons"...
Dave Brouwer
Still low. Where I live, it's 21% tax...