IMF recommends Japan sales tax hike (to 15%... In addition to income tax; A disaster we don't want!)

UPI.com ^ | July 14, 2010

[xzins]

Japan should gradually triple its sales tax to 15 percent to stabilize the country's finances, the International Monetary Fund recommends.

The IMF suggested Wednesday following annual talks with Japan's government and the Bank of Japan that beginning in fiscal 2011 there should be "a modest consumption tax hike," Kyodo news service reported.

''A gradual increase of the consumption tax to 15 percent beginning in fiscal 2011 and distributed over several years, could generate 4-5 percent of gross domestic product of revenue," the IMF said.

The international financial organization said the sales tax hike could be paired with reduced personal income tax allowances and corporate tax reform to stimulate domestic investment.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's broaching the idea of a sales tax increase from the current 5 percent is considered a key factor in the losses sustained by his Democratic Party of Japan in Sunday's House of Councillors election, Kyodo said.

[RegulatorCountry]

How does the present system of international welfare at the expense of domestic manufacturing and employment prevent Country X from refusing to allow your products entry into their country?

[BobL]

“I don’t mind your turning them into welfare programs, but I do want you to give me my money back with interest. “

Forget it. It was spent and then some (a lot). It was given back to you in the form of high-rise housing projects that were recently blown up - in the form of money to ACORN - in helping to make the payments on 60 foot RVs that retired executives drive around in.

It’s gone. The question is whether today’s debts should be handled by us, or whether we should impoverish our kids and grand kids (which seems to be the approach at this point).

[xzins]

I’m not sure what you’re asking me. Can you explain it?

[xzins]

Doesn’t seem fair after the 30 some years that I’ve paid in.

[Waco]

Sounds like democrapRATS, don’t it??

[xzins]

yep, it’s what they want for our country

income tax, vat tax, sales tax, all sorts of fed commo taxes, fees, licenses, etc.

and it doesn’t do japan a bit of good. they’re still in the hole.

[snowsislander]

I remember when the Japanese sales tax went from 3% to 5%.

Not only was there a burst of buying just before it went into effect, there was an appreciable slow-down in buying after. It was widely held that the increase was a strong factor in the recession worsening for a period after it went up. (For instance, this story recounts it this way: "Japan’s sales tax was introduced in 1989 and raised to 5 percent in 1997. The increase pushed the nation into a 20-month recession and caused then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto’s Liberal Democratic Party to lose a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time." That accords pretty much with my memory of the event.)

If going from 3% to 5% caused that much pain, I can only imagine what going from 5% to 15% would.

[opentalk]

IMF, seems is is acting in a global governance capacity..

[xzins]

The IMF is a scary organization. And they are into Obamanomics. Anything that’s international should automatically be assumed to be socialist/communist. Keynesian economics is socialist, and this is just more of the same that doesn’t work.

[Siena Dreaming]

Everyone's always talking about how terrible it is that we are the world's "only superpower".

Well, when did we ever dictate to countries that they should hike their taxes in such a draconian manner?

The IMF, the UN, etc. are the real global superpowers and it is Orwellian.

[xzins]

Bullseye.

We’re part of the same army.

[opentalk]

Last week, the IMF told the United States that we need to cut Social Security.

[Reeses]

If going from 3% to 5% caused that much pain, I can only imagine what going from 5% to 15% would.

The people that believe the sales tax going from 5% to 15% is a good idea are the same people that believe the trace gas CO2 going from 0.035% to 0.045% of the atmosphere will cause runaway global warming and destroy Earth.

[Vigilanteman]

I was in Japan when the 3% consumption tax was first instituted, as well as when it rose to 5%. One interesting thing was the days before the tax was implemented, then raised, was that you would see housewives at the market with shopping carts full of mostly paper consumables to get ahead of the tax, tissue, TP and the like.

I don't know if it is still true, but at the time, small business (based on yearly sales) were entitled to collect the tax, but did not have to remit it. The zeimusho simply did not have the eagerness to squeeze taxes out of the middle class equivalent to our IRS. I hope that hasn't changed.

[BobL]

“Doesn’t seem fair after the 30 some years that I’ve paid in.”

Join the club. But the way to look at it is that YOU benefited from all of these social programs as it helped ‘elevate’ our society.