Talks between the ruling and opposition parties have stalled over a proposal to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.
The slowdown is widely attributed to the political lull caused by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election, slated for Saturday, to choose a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
Separately, in discussions on tax system reform for the fiscal year starting in April, another key point of contention is expected to be whether to abolish the environmental performance-based levy, imposed at the time of vehicle purchase, according to fuel efficiency.
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