The Tax Commission, an advisory panel to the prime minister, agreed Tuesday to establish a subcommittee in mid-May to discuss proposed tax revisions that would encourage individuals to invest in the stock market, panel chairman Hiromitsu Ishi said.
In a rare gathering for this time of year, the panel convened Tuesday to discuss the tax incentives proposed in the emergency economic measures finalized by the government and coalition parties April 6.
Ishi, also president of Hitotsubashi University, told a news conference after the meeting that although the subcommittee's agenda has yet to be worked out, its discussion will view medium- and long-term structural reform.
"It is our policy not to take ad hoc steps that could lead to price-keeping operations for the stock market," Ishi said. "In that sense, I have negative views toward tax incentives being discussed by the Liberal Democratic Party's tax panel."
In response to the compilation of the economic package, the LDP's Tax System Research Commission has already begun deliberations and is expected to compile its proposals Friday.
The more powerful LDP tax panel is considering proposals including tax exemption on capital gains of less than 2 million yen a year from stock deals and allowing stock investors to carry over losses to following financial periods.