politics

Japan's FY2023 budget likely to hit another record of ¥114 trillion

15 Comments

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Every year, the LDP vows “fiscal consolidation.” And every year, it ends up spending more than the previous year.

6 ( +13 / -7 )

Man,this fiscal irresponsibility can't keep going on.

Got to be a point when the you know what hits the proverbial fan.

1 ( +10 / -9 )

underscoring the difficulty heavily indebted Japan faces in restoring its fiscal health

It’s not difficult, it’s just that they aren’t trying.

Social security costs and debt-servicing costs make up about half of the country's budget.

Urgent reforms needed, then.

Tax revenues and other income sources will only bring in 70 trillion yen. That’s a 44 trillion yen shortfall.

The BOJ is losing money on the bonds it’s has bought up, and the yen has plunged in value from under 100 yen to the US dollar to circa 135-140 yen recently.

Urgent reforms are needed. More kicking the can down the road is only going to make the inevitable adjustments and reforms that more difficult.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

same music every year.

LDP gov is completely meaningless and clueless.

0 ( +9 / -9 )

I'm so glad we live in a democracy where the will of the people is represented by our politicians. (Sarcasm)

0 ( +6 / -6 )

All that money being spent and GDP falling and other countries like Singapore, Taiwan etc making Japan look pathetic…

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

Looks like the government is finally determined to spend its way out of two decades of deflation that has transformed Japan into a third-world county. Now Kishida should further stimulate the economy by abolishing the consumption tax.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Numbers this big are literally meaningless.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Six point eight (6.8) trillion yen!

Wow!! Wow!!! Wow!!!!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Meiyouwenti - the very mild deflation of the previous decades is what kept working class people's lives from getting worse. It's the inflation of the last few years that is pushing Japanese workers' quality of life downward. Government spending only makes this worse.

Now as for the consumption tax, yes, it should go down or be abolished, particularly for essentials like food, clothing, and medicine. It is discouraging that there always seems to be discussion of raising it no matte how high it goes.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

ThonTaddeo,

The problem with blowing away consumption tax is then the government will have another 20 trillion yen of spending that is unfunded, and they already have a huge gap.

It would be an actual “unfunded tax cut”, as the high taxers would typically describe any tax rate cuts.

The reason the consumption tax brings in 20 trillion at 8-10% is because it is a somewhat broad-based, fairly low-rate tax that everyone pays and can’t avoid easily.

So carve out more from the consumption tax, and it’s just more debt.

Recently the Japan government is running in the opposite direction, giving huge tax breaks to Japan’s personal investor class, with big benefits going to the upper middle class, another “unfunded tax cut”.

Absolutely spending must be cut, because Japan is spending and has spent well beyond its means.

But on the tax revenues side, they need to go back to sound tax revenue principles of low-rate, broad-based taxation, so as to maximize revenues, and avoid distorting economic behavior by imposing different rates of tax on different things.

Some (most) complain about the “regressive consumption tax”, but in the first place, a primary purpose of collecting tax revenues, is to have funds to redistribute to the needy. If we do “unfunded tax cuts” for everyone, it would reduce tax revenues available to give to the needy or spend on defense or whatever else the top priorities are at the time.

So yes, sure - if spending is slashed simultaneously. Or else some theory of how eliminating consumption tax revenues would boost other tax revenues must exist, or else it’s just another “unfunded tax cut”.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

One Hundred and Fourteen Trillion Yen = +$+USD: 731,523, 500,000!

Wow! Wow!! Wow!!! I am not a dog but, I am barking like a dog. A big dog!!! WOW! WOW !! WOW!!! WOW!!!!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Can you imagine what would happen if interest rates are increased here in Japan ?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

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