Japan Press Weekly

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2008 March 26 - April 1 [FINANCE]

Gas tax income should be used for general purposes immediately: JCP Ichida

Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo at a news conference on March 27 announced his plan to allow gasoline and other automobile-related tax revenue to be used for purposes other than road construction from April 2009. He said that the abolition of the current “temporary” taxation will be approved in autumn as part of the government’s drastic tax reform.

Fukuda has been forced to change his policy of sticking to the gas tax in the face of growing criticism inside and outside of the Diet.

The prime minister also stated that the present 10-year “mid-term road construction project” which requires a total of 59 trillion yen from gasoline and other auto-related taxes will be shortened to five years after a review.

Commenting at a news conference on the same day on the Fukuda plan, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi said, “In the face of public criticism, Fukuda was forced to promise to use the gasoline tax revenue for general purposes other than road construction from April 1, 2009.”

He said that the tax revenue should be released for general purposes now, without waiting until the next fiscal year.”

The JCP has maintained that the current system of using gasoline and other auto-related tax revenues exclusively for road construction has made it possible to construct unneeded highways and that the tax income should be used to improve welfare services and education as well as roads.

chida pointed out that the prime minister’s plan to shorten by half the period of the 10-year road construction using 59 trillion yen in tax money won’t make any difference and demanded that the medium-term plan be revoked.

The JCP has been opposed to the temporary higher gas tax.
- Akahata, March 28, 2008