Japan Press Weekly

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2016 March 9 - 15 [ECONOMY]

Taxpayers opposing further consumption tax hike hold nationwide day of action

With the Abe government seeking to increase the consumption tax rate to 10% in April next year, rallies, demonstrations, and concerted filings of income-tax returns at tax offices on March 11 took place in 560 locations across the country in order to oppose heavy tax burdens.

This anti-heavy tax action has been organized annually for 47 years. Around 120,000 small- and medium-sized business owners, farmers, fishermen, and women took part in this year’s action. They called on the general public to oppose heavy tax burdens and raise their voices to force the government to cancel the consumption tax hike plan, create a democratic taxation system and administration, and abolish the war legislation in order to protect people’s lives and livelihoods and peace.

In Tachikawa City in Tokyo, 500 people including owners of SMEs and construction companies held a rally. After the rally, braving the cold rain, the participants marched in demonstration to file their tax returns at a local tax office. One of the participants, a 66-year-old carpenter running a construction company for 40 years said that many small company owners in his industry are suffering from labor shortages and the reduction in unit construction prices. He added that the dictatorial Abe government favoring only large businesses is unacceptable.

In a rally held in Saitama’s Kawaguchi City, Iwase Koji, who heads the local body of the Democratic Commerce and Industry Organizations, spoke to 600 protesters about the Abe government’s plan to raise the consumption tax to 10%. He said, “What is really needed for an economic recovery is measures to boost buying power. Smaller business owners are crying out that if the 10% consumption tax rate is introduced, it will put an end to their businesses. The tax hike plan is unjustifiable.” After marching through the city’s downtown area, the protesters in two groups jointly filed tax returns at two local tax offices.

A 72-year-old woman running a laundry in the city said that customers and sales in her shop are declining as people are tightening purse strings and that she has to cut down on food expenses to make ends meet. She expressed her strong opposition to the consumption tax rate of 10%.

In Ibaraki Prefecture, 1,700 farmers, pensioners, and family-run shop owners carried out a collective submission of income-tax returns in each tax office in the prefecture.

Past related articles:
> Against hefty tax burdens, 135K people throughout Japan all at once file tax returns [March 14, 2015]
> 140,000 people take part in nationwide action against heavy tax burden [March 14, 2014]
> People stage demonstrations opposing consumption tax hike [March 14, 2013]