The government and ruling Democratic Party of Japan's Select Committee on the Taxation System on Tuesday agreed on a temporary tax hike plan to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Tohoku region following the March 11 disaster.
The original proposal called for raising 11.2 trillion yen in additional tax revenue through increasing income, corporate and tobacco taxes. The new proposal calls for reducing the amount raised through tax increases to 9.2 trillion yen and raising the rest from non-tax sources such as the government selling its stake in Japan Tobacco, which is expected to secure about 7 trillion yen, DPJ policy affairs chief Seiji Maehara told a news conference.
Committee members have been debating the tax hikes for most of September. Many lawmakers opposed an income and corporate tax hiker, saying it would make things worse for the Japanese economy.
The committee proposes raising the income tax by 4% from January 2013 for a period of 10 years. It also proposes raising the price of tobacco with a 2-yen tax per cigarette from around this time next year. A corporate tax cut, planned for next year, will be shelved for three years, leaving the current tax at the same level.
© Japan Today
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some14some
Go ahead please, Shouganai :(
jforce
A triple whammy to the Business owner that smokes. Just sad that we have to pay for this reconstruction with no choice on how we "help" pay. Not happy about being forced to help pay for reconstruction and I can't even vote on the matter. I can't be the only one that thinks this raise is carny trick just to raise taxes for good, can I? Fell sorry for those people up there, but things are tough all over Japan and taking from an already barren pot is not the way to fix this mess. 10 years? We shall see.
some14some
nobody (neither DPJ nor LDP) will kill the Golden Goose.
pawatan
This is unclear to me. Does this mean that current income tax is 20% the new rate would be 24%, or does it mean 20% x 1.04 = 20.8%? The former case is a huge tax increase.
Nessie
They don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden cancer eggs.
ExportExpert
Shot themselves in the foot with the corporate tax move, c'mon dummies in the diet think it through properly guys.
Ramzel
Pawatan - from the way they describe it it looks like 4% overall tax increase. So the brackets will max out at 44% INCOME TAX... In Japan you have all these other taxes, like ward taxes, so to the people who make 18M +, they will walk home with less than half after all that... Good riddance.
Ramzel
In addition, rather than increasing income tax, I would say that they should increase sales tax instead. If they raised it by 2.5% to 7.5% it would still be one of the lowest in the developed world and get you a 50% increase in sales tax revenue... (well some people may cut some spending, but in theory). Personally, I may try to earn less to fall into a different income bracket if they tax 4% more across the board. Also does 4% apply to all tax paying people? In that case also the low income people (less than 1.95M) who pay 5% would have to pay 80% more taxes!
cleo
Ramsel makes a salient point; an increase of 4 points for someone in the top tax bracket is peanuts, but the same 4 points for someone at the bottom of the ladder is a swingeing increase. I hope any increase is incremental. Fair do's.
And consumption tax - only raise it if you can exclude food and health care, at the very least. Also education and children's clothes, if possible.
Ramzel
I wouldn't say that 4% in the 40% income bracket is peanuts. It is still a 10% increase on taxes and will account for a rather large sum of money. If the bottom gets the same 4% increase, yes, it will definitely be much harder felt. I agree on not taxing essentials such as food and health care related. Whilst it may be a burden to you, clothes and education would fall into the increase, imo. Otherwise, you may as well argue that housing is essential and thus a tax increase should not be applied to house purchases/rent/services...
cornbread1
Typical...the left hand clueless to what the right hand is doing:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-wooing-japanese-companies/2011/09/23/gIQAOKU0wK_story.html
Yubaru
Things like this just reinforce my ever standing belief that the lemmings of this country are going to continue to follow until they all die.
There is nary a politician that truly cares for the people of this country with the exception of election time in their own districts.
100million n U won?
Eliminate all the bonuses for "Public Servants" and they could balance the budget and fund the disaster relief. I've never understood why a politician, teacher, or bureaucrat should get a bonus for doing their damn job... particularly when most of them don't or can't.
Ivan Coughanoffalot
And yet, regular as clockwork, the entire length of my street was dug up and resurfaced this morning, exactly twelve months since the last time. One man driving the truck, one man driving the skip, and about two dozen helmeted halfwits with lightsabers carefully advising passers-by to walk around the huge machines. As if, unwarned, they would try to pass right through them, spectrally.
And there was nothing wrong with the road.
This is where the money from our 4% tax increase will be going. More pointless bureaucracy and pork-barrel schemes. Not one penny will benefit the citizens, whether they live in Tohoku or not. But you can bet the remaining 96% that there will be a few good dinners enjoyed, and a few nice bottles pours by giggling hostesses on our dime in Nagatacho and Ginza tonight.
Yubaru
One has to understand the bonus system to understand that this really would not be productive. The bonus system is in lieu of paying higher salaries to employees. Taking away the bonuses would have a devastating effect on the economy that no one truly wants to think about.
One can not equate the bonuses given out here in comparison to other countries systems. All the government and businesses really are doing is holding back pay to their employees.
I actually asked once instead of paying me a bonus divide the amount over the course of the year and increase my monthly pay and let me manage it myself. After a pause my future employer actually was impressed that I had the cojones to ask but politely told that would be impossible.
In the long run I was happy with the bonus because it felt like Christmas came twice a year and I could make large purchases without using credit.
Yubaru
Dont think of it as a bonus but your employer saving money for you.
Piglet
If my understanding is correct, the taxation for bonus and normal salary are different, so it might be more advantageous to have a higher bonus than a slightly increased salary (correct me if I am wrong).
TimeiClic
Right, that is it then. I am leaving this pathetic country by January 2013.
CityView
The democrat morons need to have their own agenda read to them (again). Anybody remember the "agenda"?
herefornow
Don't worry, an increase in the consumption tax is coming in a year or two -- to pay for the shortfall in the pension plan and other needed social costs associated with the aging population. Very glad I got out when I did. Ten years of paying higher income taxes to a bloated and inefficient J-government is an awful lot to ask.
malfupete
slightly off topic but with regards to taxes and savings, does Japan have a program like the US 401k or Canadian RRSPs? Contributions made with pre-tax income so you defer paying income tax until your retirement years and get a tax refund when its time to file.
If they indeed do raise the income tax rate, might make it more of an incentive for people to contribute.. if such a program exists.
cleo
Piglet - I think you're wrong. There's some weird method of calculating the amount of income tax withheld from the bonus that depends on the previous month's income so that two people with exactly the same bonus can be taxed at different rates, but the year-end adjustment takes annual income from both regular salary and bonus into account so that it all works out the same in the end. (I think...)
presto345
The pros and cons of raising the sales tax is a topic that of course has its proponents and opponents. It has been discussed and commented upon here many times. Some points to consider: 1) a raise across the board is unwise and unfair because the lower income brackets will be disadvantaged. 2) food and daily necessities when targeted by higher taxes force people to buy more junk food, creating a higher burden on health care and/or may be the trigger for people to edge closer to the poverty line 3) Japan having one of the lowest sales taxes in the 'developed world' is a fuzzy, rather meaningless statement as e.g. food prices and cost of distribution vary greatly from country to country and what counts is the price for the consumer, not a mere percentage. 4) (re)instating a luxury tax should be considered for high end, high performance vehicles, like certain SUVs and luxury cars, and large screen audio and tv systems. 5) high speed rail fares could be reduced to create an incentive for more people to travel and help stimulate the economy
I am sure other posters can come up with more and better ideas than the politicians who can't look beyond the length of their noses.
food a
Serrano
"hiking taxes will be bad for the economy"
Nah, if it was bad for the economy the geniuses who will pass the tax hikes wouldn't do it.
TimeiClic
^Agree with Patrick Smash. This place is beyond corrupt. I am out of here. More fool anyone who stays and takes this hike on an already ridiculous tax rate (just look out the window and tell me if what they have 'created' is in any way decent...)
Ramzel
Presto345 - I said that Japan has the lowest SALES TAX in the developed nations, not general TAXES. Germany: The rate of value-added tax rate generally in force in Germany is 19%. A reduced tax rate of 7% applies e.g. on sales of certain foods, books and magazines, flowers and transports. Sales tax in the UK and Italy is 20 percent, in France it is 19.6 percent. US: New York 8.875%. Los Angeles, 8.75%. Chicago, 9.75%. Houston, 8.25%. Phoenix, 9.30%. Philadelphia, 8.00%. San Antonio, 8.125%
THUS: JAPAN IS LOWEST ATM.
Ramzel
If you consider growth in China, despite a bit stumped in comparison in 2011, taxation for corps in HK and Spore, as well as Asian location, then Japan is a poor choice for regional HQs. For sustainable business with a solid product, however, it is an excellent choice.
ubikwit
Though I personally would rather not--and basically can't really afford to--pay higher taxes, considering the crony capitalism between Tepco, GE (USA) and Kasumigaseki that indirectly resulted in the disasters of 3-11, there would seem to be few alternatives (though some interesting ones have been proposed above, particularly those made in regard to shareholdings by the japanese government by zichi).
CharlieCard
The article is incorrect, they agreed to cut the corporate tax by 5 than increase it through a surcharge by 2.5% for 3 years. So the corportate tax will be cut by 2.5% and than another 2.5% in 3 years.
Yubaru
If they indeed do raise the income tax rate, might make it more of an incentive for people to contribute.. if such a program exists.
Quick answer, no it doesn't. Banks pay almost nothing in interest for money they hold in savings for average accounts. People almost totally rely on the national pension plans for their retirement savings.
nath
I actually really like this tax hike in tobacco! Hopefully it won't be long before we can go out dining and not have to worry about smelling like ashtrays when we leave. I have nothing against smokers, hell, I used to be one. As long as they don't impose they're habit onto others in confined spaces like restaurants. This tax should help curb this, if only just a little. With the radiation problem, do people really need to increase their cancer risks anyway?
globalwatcher
This is not a pleasant topic at all for everyone living in Japan. There are not enough information for me to comment for this topic as I am in the US and the plan seems to be premature and too vague..
Let me tell you my taxes I have been paying here in US.
My tax to Fed. Income tax, FICA (SSI), State Tax, Unemployment tax all combined, my whole gross pay until 4/15 every year goes to the governments. That's almost 1/3 of my gross income goes to the govenments, not to me. In addition to the listings above, I am paying property tax, motor vehicle registration tax, gasoline tax, sales tax (8.75%) and etc from my real income earned.
This may be little off the topic, but I am not adding all insurance costs (Car insurance $1,500/annual, property insurance $750/annual, Health insurace $1,040/MONTH, Disability Insurace $$$, Life/Accidental loss $$$)
It is very expensive to live here in US. I do not know how poor people live here with no house, no job and no health care insurance. I am not adding anything like going out for dinner, taking vacation and education, food, , prescription, cable tv, home improvement, internet, telephone and etc at all.
The tax here is very high compared to Japan, and I still think Japan is a lot cheaper place to live.
smithinjapan
"The committee proposes raising the income tax by 4% from January 2013 for a period of 10 years."
Yeah... and in ten years they'll put it back to previous levels! haha. I've NEVER heard of a 'temporary' tax increase that was actually temporary. The government is already looking for more ways to make some quick money without sacrificing anything themselves, do people honestly buy into the notion that they'll give up a major money maker ten years down the road? Nope... it'll be increased more, if anything.
gaijinfo
What's another decade?
nath
I do not agree with this tax, but I also disagree with the taxation on food, medicine, baby supplies etc. They should stop that and do a VAT on luxury items.
If you save money on a regular basis, pay yourself first. Add another 4 % to what what you are already saving and you won't feel the pinch.
Of course, if you are in your own business, you can easily hide 4%.
bentheredonthat
couldn't they have told me about a tax increase BEFORE i donated all that money for Tohoku. sheeze!
RossBardJapan
They see Obama and the ruling party in America raising and levying new and more intrusive taxes and they tell the public here the same lies.
beangry
" 1 Good Bad zichiSEP. 27, 2011 - 01:44PM JST Can't understand why the government does not just sell the 50% shares it holds in Japan Tobacco which would yield about ¥1.7 trillion?"
It sounds good, zichi, but it isn't. First they'd sell it to some private owners who'd get all the revenue, and over the years the profits they'd receive could easily be a loss to the govt selling its shares. look what they did with he railroads. Do you know how much he govt LOST in revenues since nakasone sold them? It's a bad idea.
soldave
Has all the money that was raised following the earthquake been spent now? Last I read a huge proportion had not been allocated. Am assuming this will also happen to the funds raised by the government, being slowly watered down into other areas/people's pockets (delete as appropriate).
Juan Rodriguez
Temporary? Sounds like they are test driving the car before buying it.
Tigerta9
@JapanGal is the voice of reason. Although it's really too little too late. Shouganai ne...
Disillusioned
Where do you get 20% from? The current rate is between 5-10% depending on your status. If you are paying 20% income tax you are being seriously ripped off!
cleo
The current rate is from 5% (up to 1.95 million) to 40% (over 18 million) depending on your income. If pawatan's income after deductions is between 3.3 million yen and 6.95 million yen, he's liable to pay 20% less a deduction of 636,000 yen.
http://www.nta.go.jp/taxanswer/shotoku/2260.htm
noriyosan73
Someone please translate. Good-bye economy. Good night growth. Hello recession.
RossBardJapan
End the Keynesian craziness.
kurisupisu
So this will mean..........
Inflation up,commoditiy price rises and workers laid off as companies raise prices to pay for the tax increases
cleo
Paddy, I think you mean minus 97,500 (etc) yen, and the tax is calculated on the entire taxable income, not just the portion exceeding the lower limit for that tax bracket.
The example given on the tax page is for a taxable income of 7 million -
700万円×0.23-63万6千円=97万4千円
¥7 million x 0.23 - ¥636,000 = ¥974,000
minello7
The criteria should that all politicians hold a degree in economics, you wouldn't trust the present worldwide bunch to to do the weekly shopping.
cleo
Just worked out that my way of calculating income tax and Paddy's way both end up with the same result....Seems no matter how you try to do it, they still get your money.
CrazyJoe
Ten years of tax increases just to pass the 3rd supplementary budget. Holy *****. That's like telling a malnutritioned person to go on a diet. By the way, the Diet in in session now. (upper house) The DSP cannot be trusted.
David Grace
Color me naive, but on the one hand Japan complains about a strong Yen, on the other hand it needs to raise money to pay for Tohoku reconstruction. Why not just print 11T new Yen and pass those crisp notes out to the construction workers?
globalwatcher
Patrick SmashSep. 28, 2011 - 01:30PM JST
@Patrick,
What is a middle class income in Japan where tax should be maintain relatively low?
If its only 5%, that's very good and I envy of you guys.
As I have mentioned, I consider myself in a middle income bracket, yet, I am working free for the govts until 4/15, so my 1/3 of annual gross income goes to them, not to me. That's very high here.
cactusJack
With all these taxes and no way to save any money, it looks like I will be living my retirement on Tokyo streets. Hello friendly blue tarp...is that a Japan Times I see in the dumpster?
jforce
Good to see a sensible list. I wish our domestic patriots had the same sensibilities or the motivation to do a little research and cause a lot of ... umm ... uproar? The global recession is afoot and we need to wait this one out - unfortunately. Can't say fleeing the country is the best option... but ....
gogogo
They can't agree on anything but when it comes to collecting more money from taxes both parties are totally in agreement. Sort of sickens me.
Foxie
@PatrickSmash: As you said, there is another way which is to cut down on bureaucratic waste and that is cutting the Hilton Resort stays for SDF on oversaes training missions.
ThonTaddeo
Ramzel, you are cherry-picking the parts of the US with the highest sales taxes, and not accounting for how most US jurisdictions don't charge sales tax on essentials like clothing and unprepared food. Add to this the fact that states can compete to atract residents with lower taxes, and you have some checks in place that prevent governments from ratcheting sales taxes too high. (They're still doing it, but more slowly than they probably would like.)
New York State sales tax is 4%. It's only in NYC that they can get away with gouging the populace for 8.875%. Some states have no sales tax at all.
I can't understand why the individual prefectures allow the national government to set a uniform sales tax rate nationwide. Imagine the economic benefits that could be brought to the poorer prefectures if they could eliminate consumption tax or lower it significantly!
Back in my home states of New York and New Jersey, there's a healthy competition. NJ doesn't tax clothes whereas NYC does, so big outlet clothing stores have set up shop in NJ, where sales tax is already lower, and attract customers from NY who love saving that big 8 7/8%. (NY counters with the occasional tax holiday for clothing.)
NJ has a system where sales tax is cut in half in economically-depressed areas, so you can save 3% on anything you buy there. Store owners in these "enterprise zones" would go bankrupt if the state capital (or Washington, DC) were to siphon away all their money!
Imagine something like that being tried in Japan? No consumption tax if you buy something in cash-strapped Okinawa or in tsunami-ravaged Tohoku? No, I can't either.
GW
This isnt all written in stone folks, it will change again & again & again over the coming days, weeks, months, yrs.
The idiots running this place just make crap up & then renege, adjust, go get drunk for a while, then come back & start stupid proposals again.................
The tax increases are mostly daft thoughts, as I have spewed on this site many time & PSmash CORRECTLY points out above, there is collossal waste that if cut wud yield massive amounts of yen for Tohoku, the simple way is to CUT ALL ministries budgets 15%(they all easily waste steal that amount & have for decades), funnel that to Tohoku & likely we wudnt need any tax increases.
Another thing the twits in power havent figured out is that the taxes they usually get are going to decrease A LOT due to the disasters, my gross is way down & many big companies are as well, so taxes revenues are headed SOUTH YOU MORONS, DOH!
Chinchan Zu
temporary tax hike plan for 10 years? i dont get the "temporary" part there
Serrano
This should kick-start the economy.
johninnaha
"A nation trying to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."
Winston Churchill
johninnaha
Definition of "temporary" = 'continued until people forget about it.'*
Then it becomes part of standard operating procedure.
*NOTE: The process can be expedited by smokescreen tactics, like getting people worried about something that's really not that dangerous, but it makes them worry about it, like SARS. Or starting a couple of wars here or there or getting some lunatic to blow himself up in a public place.
ubikwit
@zichi
let those maggots go to singapore; they don't belong in japan anyway.
the wealthy people in japan who derive their wealth from corrupt ties with other countries should be prosecuted for economic espionage as far as i'm concerned.
GW
ubikwit
It AINT just the wealthy who are looking at alternatives
ubikwit
@GW
the tax rates in japan are not excessive by global standards. so there is no reason for all of this whining.
too many people came to japan when it was like easy money or something, looking for opportunity where the only skill they needed was the magical ability to speak english.
i have benefited from that situation, and have worked hard to learn japanese and keep abreast of developments that might have an impact on my future here. some people seem to think that they have a right to enjoy some unearned privileged status in perpetuity without contributing anything to social progress.
obviously there is a difference between wealthy cretins complaining about the government going after their ill-gotten gain with taxation--the prime tool in a democracy against a would-be wanna-be plutocratic class of parasites (i.e., Theodore Roosevelt's "wealthy criminal class") and working-class people whose livelihoods are threatened due to the economic downturn caused by the finance industry and corrupt politicians complicit in deregulation.
even people with excessive wealth--like buffet--have come out in favor of the government taxing the excessive wealth that has been by and large obtained in a dysfunctional system through insider knowledge of a privileged group that was exerting undue influence on the political process in order to loosen regulations that checked potential abuses of "capital".
in japan, you have, for example, a long string of prime ministers connected to criminal industrialist families from the post-meiji era neo-feudalistic social order. and taro is a good example, as his family used pow's as slave labor in their coal mines in kyushu during the war, and while he was economics minister (before he became prime minister) he made the comment that he would like to see japan become a country where "rich jews" would like to live. just check the wkikpedia page on aso taro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro_Aso
was he referring to his economics counterparties in the treasury department and the like (e.g.,rubin and summers) in the usa? those are the cretins responsible for pushing the deregulation of the finance that has brought about a global crisis of unprecedented scale, and benefited only their cronies in the finance industry.
TAX THE WEALTHY
GW
ubikwit,
If you have read my posts I have often refered to the rich who are bleeding the system, worldwide, I have no problem with people who are wealthy, wudnt mind trying it myself, but I do okay. The problem with wealth is those at the top syphon it off & claim the ""EARN IT"" well............. to a point I wud agree but for the filthy rich they have gone WAY past earning, now they are pilfering it & the markets are feeling it more & more, this has been going on in a bad way for about 30yrs I wud say.
Back to the tax hikes, I pay a lot & if I saw myself & society benefiting I wudnt complain, BUT in Japan the govt & the beaurocrates are stealing & wasting the taxes we already pay in obscene fashion, THATS what pisses me off & many others I wud guess. I am more than happy to pay more to help Tohoku, BUT the thieves in Nagatacho MUST PAY AS WELL because if they dont we are ALL going down, times are tough & looking to get tougher.
Bottom line in Japan & Japanese CAN NOT AFFORD to let their politicians & beaurocrates carry on anymore they way they have even without 3/11 THEY were killing Japan, point blank. Paying more taxes I dont think will help much because those who get their hands on it will continue to steal & waste it & Japan cant afford any more of it
herefornow
ubikwit -- nonsense. Japan's effective corporate tax rate, at roughly 40%, is right at the top among the major economies, and much higher than that in places like Singapore, HK, etc. In fact, the government had recognized this and was preparing to lower it by an initial 5% before Tohoku/Fukushima. And if you don't think that's important to
then you have become too inward focused like many Japanese. Japan is bleeding direct foreign investment, which directly impacts jobs here and Japan's future competitive position. And, you are also ignoring the fact that the consumption tax will certainly double within the next few years. When that happens, along with the ten year increase in the income tax, your overall tax rate in Japan will be extremely high.
ubikwit
herefornow,
i appreciate that the corporate tax rate is high here, but i'm basically opposed to government laxity to corporations, as was abraham lincoln, basically.
in fact, i rather appreciate the fact that corporations are taxed higher here in japan, as the scenario in the usa is beyond pathetic. corporations have corrupted the entire system; we no longer have a democracy with a well-regulated free-market economy, we have medieval corporatism with lobbyists exerting an undue influence on policy, basically seeking to serve their own group interests at the expense of the public interest.
that is the basic problem with granting groups the right to be considered a "legal person".
that being the case, it is hard to fault the old keiretsu system in japan, where they basically took the concept of corporatism to its modern epitome of the country as a crossheld mutually supportive collective of corporations, and individuals determined in accordance with their respective corporate associations.
at any rate, that's drifting a bit off topic, perhaps, but as an individual here, my taxes are not unreasonable, though the health insurance is a bit high.
also, i have to say take issue with the characterization that i am "too inward focused", as my work keeps me well engaged with the world at large. it is precisely because i am not focused on being a "corporate team player" type that i am able to keep one (hopefully two) steps ahead of the next calamity about to be caused as a result of the dysfunctional system we are confronted with at present.
the problem with the tax issue is that groups that are funding the "tea party" types in the usa have spread a populous contagion that has deceived under-informed people that taxing the wealthy is against their religion instead of a part of the democratic political process in which they should be involved. so those basically disenfranchised people are acting against their own interest from the other end of the political process, trying to help the very people have pilfered the treasury to keep their ill gotten gain, as they stole it fair and square, or something like that.
japanese companies that are also keeping abreast of what is going on in the world are generally very successful, despite the high tax rates. how do you account for that? at any rate, i don't really see the need for "foreign investment", and i don't cow-tow to foreign finance sector legal persons.
on the other hand, i don't support the waste of tax payer funds on public works projects that don't serve the public interest, but japan has been addressing that serious problem in recent years. when they use our taxes to start tearing down the power line poles and burying optical fiber underground, however, i'll probably have to support that .
ubikwit
herefornow,
well, actually, i loath the keiretsu system, as it is oriented toward establishing an exclusionary network. on the other hand, they do pay a lot of taxes!
what i meant by singing its praises is that the keoretsu system represents, in a sense, a logical extension of american neo-medieval corporatism. the japanese have outmaneuvered the americans in being a more extensively corporatist society, in other words. the problem in america is that the corporations don't pay any taxes. the most glaring example is the recent prominent example of GE, which paid a negative tax rate last year--if i recall correctly--exploiting loopholes and receiving more money in the form of government subsidies than it owed in taxes, even though it was one of the most profitable corprations.
when i talk about successful japanese companies, i mean companies like toyota, honda, and sony that have been pioneers in their respective fields at some point. i don't mean parasite companies like softbank, which is essential an agent of the american neo-medieval corporatist network.
i'm not against JVs, of course, just imperialistic finance scum who don't pay any taxes anywhere.