Upper house passes bill to double consumption tax

Politics Aug. 10, 2012 - 06:00PM JST ( 24 )

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24 Comments

4

TumbleDryAug. 10, 2012 - 06:49PM JST

New pork barrels in the starting blocks.

Well, the government will get more monet but won't spend any less...
2

GodanAug. 10, 2012 - 07:02PM JST

The will to tax the average Jo Suzuki vs. The will to stop wasting money

If only the same amount effort were put into the latter as we saw in the case of the former. :-( In the end, there'll be a spike in consumption prior to the tax increase(s) and then there will be a huge drag on spending. Thanks Nagatacho for continuing to squeeze the middle class of Japan - hope you are proud of yourselves.
3

my2senseAug. 10, 2012 - 07:22PM JST

Okay guys let's hit the hostess clubs hard tonight so email your wives. We gave ourselves a raise.
-3

SushiSake3Aug. 10, 2012 - 07:43PM JST

Only about a decade late, but glad they hae finally approved this.
4

SerranoAug. 10, 2012 - 08:17PM JST

"could ultimately cost him ( Noda ) his job"

I certainly hope so, and I hope it costs the jobs of every politician who voted for this.

"glad they have finally approved this"

You would be.
-1

ubikwitAug. 10, 2012 - 08:26PM JST

well, let's adopt a forward looking attitude toward this, as now people can inject points for reforming the deficiencies in the measure, such as a need to exempt daily necessities, and make the tax serve the people instead of being fed to the black hole of useless public works.

it is a travesty of justice that this increase wasn't ties to reform of the amakudari practice, as it is going to be even harder to get anything meaningful accomplished with regard to that conundrum.
2

YubaruAug. 10, 2012 - 08:41PM JST

It's amazing that Noda got this through with the LDP. I just wished that while they decided to raise the consumption tax that they would have been specific in what exactly would be taxed vs an across the board increase.

The ever shrinking middle class here and people living below the poverty line are going to feel a HUGE pinch when this comes into effect. I hope TPP gets pushed through just as fast to increase cheaper imports to help ALREADY struggling families.

They should NEVER have raised the tax, in fact they should have eliminated it entirely, for necessities.
-1

SushiSake3Aug. 10, 2012 - 09:50PM JST

Serrano, when are you finally going to pass Economics 101?

To pay for things, you need money.

Now I know that as an American conservative you believe money grows on trees and that deficits don't matter.

Sorry pal, deficits DO matter, and last I heard, your government was paying US$400 billion a year on debt servicing costs.

No, JGOV has to raise taxes. The alternative is a financial black hole.

Any credible financial analyst will tell you this.

Except Fox News, which will inform you borrowing forever from China is viable.

It's not.

Listen to your mother: if you want to buy a toy, you need to have money to do so.
-2

SushiSake3Aug. 10, 2012 - 09:53PM JST

Yubaru - "They should NEVER have raised the tax, in fact they should have eliminated it entirely, for necessities."

5% is a tiny increase. People will quickly get used to it.

Where I come from it's 15% and has been for years.
-3

JeffLeeAug. 10, 2012 - 10:12PM JST

Nobody likes more taxes. But in Japan's dire fiscal case, it's gotta be done. The DPJ has a hell of a lot more the courage than the gutless LDP ever had.
1

YubaruAug. 10, 2012 - 10:15PM JST

5% is a tiny increase. People will quickly get used to it.

Where I come from it's 15% and has been for years.

5% is not tiny when actual wages and spending power has dropped significantly over the past few years. Along with a consumption tax increase health insurance (both kekoumin kenko and shakai hoken) have gone up, along with increases in income taxes.

Utilities have increased as well, along with everyday goods and services. 5% is HUGE, when one takes into consideration other increases as well.
3

seriousfuguAug. 10, 2012 - 11:22PM JST

This will hurt tourism. Japan is already very expensive and will become more so. Unfortunate.
0

YuriOtaniAug. 10, 2012 - 11:24PM JST

People are losing jobs and this will cause people to spend even less money. This will cause more jobs to be lost. Japan needs to increase the yen in circulation and this will cause inflation and people to spend money. Balanced budgets are nice but we are in a shrinking money event.
2

VirtuosoAug. 10, 2012 - 11:25PM JST

I hope pensioners can develop a taste for gourmet cat food sprinkled with sawdust.
5

CrazyJoeAug. 10, 2012 - 11:28PM JST

This is not a 5% increase. Anything that doubles (from 5% to 10%) is an increase of 100%. You'll be paying 100% more in consumption tax.
2

ubikwitAug. 10, 2012 - 11:54PM JST

this tax unfairly burdens the working class and people on fixed incomes (pensioners, etc.), who are in pretty dire straits already, by and large.

if the government doesn't quickly agree to modify it so that such is not the case, then that government should be voted OUT.

amakudari bound MOJ bureaucrats and their partners in crime among the politicos and private sector that want to appease the international "investor class" should be wire tapped and investigated.
-2

malfupeteAug. 11, 2012 - 12:05AM JST

just print more Yen.. it will solve all of your problems..
2

basroilAug. 11, 2012 - 12:14AM JST

“Sure, the tax hike is an important issue in the context of the global environment where Europe is suffering from a sovereign debt crisis, and so Noda would earn his name in history.

He sure will, as the person who started the Great Japanese Depression. Taxes always drive an economy lower, and consumption taxes ONLY hurt the lower classes who do not have an extra 5% to give to government idiots.
0

realdollAug. 11, 2012 - 12:19AM JST

You elect educated people to do something a little more imaginative.. any moron can raise taxes. I wouldn't spend any more than I absolutely had to.
4

basroilAug. 11, 2012 - 12:25AM JST

SushiSake3Aug. 10, 2012 - 07:43PM JST

Only about a decade late, but glad they have finally approved this.

The last time they did this, a decade ago, they slowed the GDP enough to make the ten years after it basically a stagnant economy. And that was only 3% to 5%, which while it is the same percentage increase, it is a huge increase as a percent of final sale price.
1

ubikwitAug. 11, 2012 - 03:13AM JST

...I meant Ministry of Finance (MOF?) not MOJ bureaucrats. Though I suppose they could suppress investigations if hired by the finance sector...

Anyway, eliminating corruption starts with addressing this amakudari issue.

I had been under the impression that the DJP had initially included that in their agenda.
1

KabukiloverAug. 11, 2012 - 03:55PM JST

And in violation of the DPJ's campaign pledge Noda has shafted us all.
1

bruinfanAug. 11, 2012 - 10:23PM JST

I was hoping that food would be exempt (like it is in most countries or at least at a lower rate). Food is already the world's most expensive for many things without this. Maybe the TPP could help ease the financial burden on people who have to eat, but aren't rich.
-1

edbardoeAug. 12, 2012 - 10:30PM JST

Good news for competing economies like the USA. Raise taxes and expand "social" services, code for hire more parasite government workers. The Obama prescription for economic growth! Works so well here in the states (and everywhere else, see USSR) Hope you have a government job shuffling papers.