A panel of financial experts this week proposed that Sapporo implement a tax specifically designed to finance the removal of snow.
The proposal is included in a report submitted Tuesday by the study council on the city's revenues, headed by Toshio Kuroyanagi, professor of Sapporo University, to Sapporo Mayor Nobuo Katsura.
The report acknowledges demands from citizens for increased measures to remove snow in the city, known for its annual snow festival. The city plans to spend 16.1 billion yen on measures to remove snow from roads and other snow-related projects in fiscal 2001.
The report calls for levying income-based taxes on citizens and capital-based taxes on companies.
In order to generate 2 billion yen in tax income, 1,000 yen to 4,000 yen per year has to be collected from individuals, and 10,000 yen to 50,000 yen from companies.
The council also considered imposing the tax on those staying at hotels in the city but advised that such a plan would only increase the financial burden on a particular industry and the city should be careful about introducing it.