TOKYO - The economic situation in Japan can no longer allow a delay in raising the rate of the national sales tax, and an agreement on the issue needs to be reached by the end of the fiscal year in April. On January 4th the Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda held a press conference to mark the start of the new year, saying that the biggest hurdle for Japan at the moment is addressing the country’s overwhelming levels of debt and reaching ... Read More

TOKYO - The major political parties of Japan have come to some agreement on the matter of taxation, taking the first steps to increasing rates and raising extra funds for the country’s rebuild following the recent spate of natural disasters. Months of political debate came to an end on November 24th when the Lower House of Parliament of Japan approved new legislation which paves the way for the government to hike some tax rates as a means of raising revenues to fund ... Read More

TOKYO - Japan is looking at tax measures to boost the economic recovery of its disaster struck regions, with a series of proposed tax credits for establishing businesses and rebuilding efforts. While speaking to the press on October 4th the senior vice finance minister of Japan Fumihiko Igarashi said that the Tax Commission of the Finance Ministry of Japan is considering several tax measures aimed at increase capital investment and economic growth in the country’s disaster struck regions. In the Commission’s plans, the ... Read More

The newly appointed Prime Minister of Japan has promised a fresh push towards new tax measures to shore up the country’s financial stability and decrease the national debt levels. Throughout the weekend following the appointment of Yoshihiko Noda’s as the Prime Minister of Japan, the new leader said that he will soon set out to introduce a temporary increase to the country’s consumption tax rate, however Yoshihiko Noda has not yet revealed what rate he will seek to instate. In an interview ... Read More

Japan has once again failed to make progress in raising its sales tax rate, after a government appointed committee failed to reach an agreement on any changes to the tax. On June 20th Prime Minister Naoto Kan held a press conference in Tokyo, in which he revealed that a government appointed committee has failed to agree on the details tax and superannuation system reforms, putting an indefinite delay to any proposed tax changes. The committee, which was chaired by the Prime Minister, discussed the ... Read More