politics

Abe aide says raising sales tax would win global trust

28 Comments
By Ami Miyazaki and Linda Sieg

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28 Comments
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Japan needs global endorsement for mere two percent tax hike?! 

4 ( +4 / -0 )

You win global trust by running a lean and efficient public sector, not a bloated one supported by taxing your citizens to destitution.

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Translation: Abe is going to call a snap election because "he has to" which will allow him to consolidate his power to the point that he can amend the Constitution and then raise taxes without cutting government spending and/or staff one jot. And when the economy collapses, he and the rest of these born-on-third-base fools will shrug their shoulders and say "who coulda known?"

12 ( +12 / -0 )

providing decent housing for the 100,000 people still in temporary housing after Fukushima instead of investing in vanity projects like the Olympics would also help.....

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I notice that this article didn't mention the "stimulus package" is to be funded by bonds with negative interest rates. Who in their right mind would buy into an investment where they know they're going to lose money. So we've got a rising taxes, a stimulus package to spend money on unneeded work projects to construction companies who donate to LDP candidates, all to be funded by bonds to put the government even deeper in debt, except that no one in their right mind would ever buy them.

Forget recession, they're looking to drive the country into a depression.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

The fools would get respect if they severely cut spending on garbage and balanced their budget. That would earn respect from me.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I am not sure how raising the income tax can raise global trust. I'm also not sure why he is spendinghige amounts of money to help corporations who can't increase sales due to low demand which is a direct consequence of decreasing spending power which is influenced by the tax hike. Well I guess He is helping his rich boys clubs. Keep bankrupt businesses going so he can win the next election.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I am not sure how raising the income tax can raise global trust.

Sales tax, not income tax.

The idea behind this is that raising the sales tax shows the country is trying to be fiscally responsible in handling its debt problems.

I don't know if it's actually true or not, but that's the idea behind it.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

Business as usual, it's more important to appear successful than anything else.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

What would really win global trust (if that is needed) would be to implement the structural reforms that are one of the arrows of abenomics. But even Abe, I guess, cannot stand up against the interests of the 1%ers.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"Let them eat Cup Noodles" -is what the cabinet is actually thinking eh?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Raise it to 20% and then the "international society", whoever they might be, can be our BFF.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

That's our world people. The new world order where pressuring your people into slavery, step by step, will gain you the global trust.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Well, it is true. And he is right.

But really, who cares what the world thinks? You can't find an economy that has been able to keep from going over the edge despite constant pressure over 25 years. Seriously, who can lecture Japan on how to run a distressed economy with aging pressure, a shrinking population, and all kinds of other problems? Europe is chock full of basket cases. Canada and Australia were doing really well, but now they are sorting through wreckage.... while Japan putters along with universal health care and social peace.

Nobody gives Japan enough credit to Japan's stability. All this handwringing over a 2% hike is really saying a lot. And frankly, tax or not, Japan will still be Japan. Abe is just making a case for a policy that will probably not make much difference either way. It is not news. And no news is good news.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

An initial rise in the sales tax to 8% from 5% in 2014 tipped the economy back into recession, but some ruling party lawmakers favor offsetting any potential damage this time with a huge government spending package.

Wow, so they are advocating the tax increase, only to increase the debt even more for a temporary and extremely short-term band-aid to a problem they are causing?

I'd say that the world would trust Japan just as much if they looked to decrease their debt by trimming excess spending first, including on useless projects and other political agendas. And they'd get more support from their people, perhaps even for the tax increase. I'd certainly support it more if I knew the government was doing their part in decreasing the national debt as well.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The only thing it would win is global trust from the political elite who exist only to spend our money.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Abe aide says raising sales tax would win global trust

I say raising the tax will annoy those on low incomes, without a corresponding rise in salary. Simply "asking companies" to raise salaries is useless. Order it, or leave the tax rate as is.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Abe aide says raising sales tax would win global trust

It's really pathetic that this idiot thinks so little of his people that he would justify a stupid policy with a reason so ridiculous and think the Japanese public will swallow it.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

article: but some ruling party lawmakers favor offsetting any potential damage this time with a huge government spending package.

Not sure that offsetting has worked as expected so far. Does the "huge government spending package" have to be really huge? And even more, is it really needed?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Let's just face it: he'll raise it... he just won't commit to doing so until after a snap election he is 'forced' to hold (before too much skepticism builds and the opposition has a chance).

4 ( +5 / -1 )

JGov, you want respect? Honor your emissions agreements. Force people to stop idling their vehicles. Put a device that turns the engine off if any vehicle idles for five strait minutes. Lock them out if they restart the car within a minute of shutting off on the third time.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

He added that he did not think the current economic situation warranted a change in the plan. gee wonder how bad it has to get before they call off the tax hike. wait for the economy to tank worse than the last rise if they decide to go ahead with the 10% hike

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Regardless of the consumption tax hike, the economy will tank. Without structural and other reforms there will be no growth.

On the other hand, Japan's residents should not accept the risk of the government going the way of other failed administrations through indiscipline. Should things get truly bad, it'll look much worse than further economic sluggishness while the government tries to get its books in order.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

offsetting any potential damage this time with a huge government spending package.

This always gets repeated by government officials without much skepticism. "Offsetting" the damage done by making consumers pay more for their goods... by issuing debt and debasing the currency so that, again, consumers will pay more for their goods.

It's only an "offset" for the rapacious government, who will lose some of the additional revenue they take in with the tax increase. For the regular working taxpayer, it's getting slammed from two angles instead of one.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Where did this nut job come from? Never heard of him before. Does he feed Abe-san this kind of nonsense ... or does Abe-san feed him this stuff? From his viewpoint, the consumption tax increase and possibly even a snap election are no longer Japan's problems ... but the world's. Unbelievable ...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I think I could predict what people resident in Japan would say in reply to the question "would YOU be prepared to pay more for your daily necessities so that the Japanese government can be trust more?"

1 ( +2 / -1 )

No Shinzo fess up its gunna cook you up some brownie points with the big boys in play who tax the world and that you gotta pay into to be in the club.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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