Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

JCP calls for joint efforts to halt planned sales tax hike

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo issued an appeal on September 5 calling for establishing wide-ranging cooperation to block the consumption tax increase scheduled for next April.

The Japanese government plans to raise the consumption tax rate from the current 5% to 8% in April 2014, and then to 10% in October 2015. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo intends to make a final judgment on whether to increase the tax rate as scheduled ahead of the extraordinary Diet session starting next month.

Citing the latest polls indicating that the majority of the general public seeks a halt to the planned sales tax hike next April, the appeal points out as follows: If the largest tax increase in history is implemented while the common people’s income continues to decline, both the economy and people’s lives will be destroyed; and the increase in the consumption tax rate is useless for defusing the state’s financial crisis because almost all the other tax revenues will decrease due to the further economic downturn that will be caused by the sales tax hike.

Shii said at a press conference in the Diet building that the JCP is strongly opposed to the consumption tax hike, referring to the sales tax as the most unfair regressive taxation system. He also stressed that his party has already put forward alternative ways to improve social security services as well as overcome the fiscal crisis without relying on sales tax revenues.

“There are a lot of people who are worried about or opposed to the consumption tax increase scheduled for next April, even among those who support a sales tax hike at some point in the future. I call for building up broader cooperation to stop the planned consumption tax rise by setting aside differences in opinions on tax systems, social security programs, and how to deal with the fiscal difficulties,” the chair stated.