Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated Wednesday that the higher tax revenues — which he attributed to Abenomics — may be used to cover a shortfall when food is exempted from the coming tax hike.
Such a decision, if made, would draw criticism from opposition lawmakers. The Abe administration has pledged to use only "stable, permanent tax revenues" to cover a reduced tax rate for food products when the government raises the consumption tax to 10 percent from the current 8 percent in April next year.
"How to use the increased tax revenue thanks to Abenomics will be discussed at the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy," Abe said during a Lower House Budget Committee session Wednesday. The council is a key economic advisory panel to the prime minister.