Latest 15 of 16 Total Comments Show All

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  some14some at 07:35 AM JST - 12th July

  Double digit upto 99%...is ok. btw, is there no difference between sales tax and consumption tax?

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  borscht at 08:06 AM JST - 12th July

  Economy on the brink? Raise sales taxes! That'll bring it around.

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  Sarge at 08:14 AM JST - 12th July

  "support aging baby boomers"

  Question: Why can't these aging baby boomers support themselves? Don't they have any savings?

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  DenshaDeGO at 09:42 AM JST - 12th July

  We should provide a sense of security to the Japanese people by presenting an outlook for the future direction of the country’s fiscal conditions

  Sorry but illogical decision making and rampant, government-sponsored corruption has killed any sense of security I might have ever had.

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  dijapan at 09:56 AM JST - 12th July

  Sarge: the quick and easy answer is - Japan is a socialized democracy. The government promised everyone 30 - 40 years ago, "Work hard, rebuild our great land, and when you retire we will take care of you." I think in a wealthy socialist country like Japan, raising the sales tax is a great idea (although you and I both know that sales taxes hurt the poorest the most).

  Raising the sales tax can be a good thing for the economy, the government has more money to spend on its people. It's up to the people to make sure it is spent wisely, and that is where the trouble starts in this corruption-prone country.

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  timorborder at 10:23 AM JST - 12th July

  Hope he will also be eyeing his new career opportunities at the same time. Putting aside for a moment the rational arguments that Japan needs to do something about its government income if it expects the current social-net gravy train to continue, the fact of the matter is that raising sales taxes is a very difficult sell in the electorate. With increasing prices throughout the economy due to "oil mania," I think the tax question would be something that most politicians would sidestep at the current time. Irrespective of rational, nobody wins elections by raising taxes.

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  thepro at 12:54 PM JST - 12th July

  God damnit, raise the tobacco tax

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  GW at 01:24 PM JST - 12th July

  sarge

  you think with the $$$$$$$$ these old foggies have paid all their lives that there wud(should) be an absolutely obscene amount of money sitting around to pay for this, but we all know its gone! Its been wasted, lost, stolen, wasted wasted on all kinds of white elephant projects.

  Now that the old geezers see retirement coming they want the young folk to pay, the current system is clearly bankrupt, all the social services are running on fumes right now

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  wilbur at 01:39 PM JST - 12th July

  the economy, and all of japan in fact, is circling the drain...raising the tax to double digits will kill it completely..too bad these maroons can't see that

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  yosun at 02:03 PM JST - 12th July

  It's been hard time for average income people, high sales tax means government get easy money that mostly come from the general public! is it really fair? why not try to get some more money from rich people?

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  realist at 04:16 PM JST - 12th July

  Tax, tax, tax. That is all the fascist LDP/Soka Gakkai Alliance thinks of. Now they are going to raise this evil tax on our food, making food prices here even more expensive. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! The biggest trouble with this country is the lack of logic and forethought. Cant these thicko politicians see that if they raise the tax on food, less people will be able to afford to have children and feed them? Hence, the birth rate will plummet even further, and there will be less people working, and the "Baby Boomers" will starve to death, anyway. Good one, Finance Minister! Where did you get your education? Another product of Todai? It figures!

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  buggerlugs at 10:14 PM JST - 12th July

  get real, yes, raising the tax will kill any hope of reviving the economy... maybe those upon high who are so in the know, they should; 1)take a pay cut
  2) not spend stupid amounts on a useless G8 lunch
  3) provide proper help for those of us who havekids
  4) lower the taxes, increase spending growth and consumer confidence
  5) accept more bribes instead of a regular salary

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  presto345 at 12:33 PM JST - 13th July

  As always this is the path to the easy way out. Only, it won't work. Where did this guy get his degree, how competent is he? Ohh, yes, I see.

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  sharky1 at 03:32 PM JST - 13th July

  Just do away with mandatory retirement, and you won't have to raise taxes. Kind of a no brainer.

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  flash1480 at 01:24 PM JST - 14th July

  income taxes, national scheme health insurance, pension payments, unemployment insurance, city and prefectural taxes can add up to a quarter of income for those who choose to pay, and with a five percent sales tax contribution to the government coffers on top of these grossly mismanaged sysmtems, it adds up even more, and foreigners who come here think taxes are cheap here, like many things in the culture and psyche here, this is just how it SEEMS to the naive outsider.

  Thats right, ramp up sales tax, and add to the already burgeoning burdens of tax and food prices in this country. Bureaucratic idiots.

  P.S. How do you tell when a japanese politician isnt thinking? His Lips are moving.

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