Japan Press Weekly

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2015 December 9 - 15 [POLITICS]

Shii criticizes ruling bloc for using 8% consumption tax rate on food as excuse to further self interest

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on December 11 at a press conference held in Kyoto criticized the ruling parties’ plan to maintain the consumption tax rate on food items as a ploy to serve their interests.

The Liberal Democratic and Komei parties on the previous day decided on a tax reform package which includes a plan to continue to impose the current consumption tax rate of 8% on foods after the rate will be increased to 10% in April 2017.

The JCP chair pointed out that although the consumption tax hike to 10% will impose an additional 5.4 trillion yen tax burden on the general public and that even if the sales tax rate on foods remains unchanged at 8%, the general public will have to pay 4.4 trillion yen more in tax.

Shii went on to say that the government has been arguing that the consumption tax increase is essential to fund social welfare programs, it plans to cut government spending for public nursing-care, medical-care services, and public pensions. On the other hand, he stated, the government intends to provide further preferential tax treatment to corporations and proposes a record high defense budget of five trillion yen for fiscal year 2016.

“In the first place, the plan to levy the 10% consumption tax is unjustifiable and it should be canceled,” Shii stressed.