Discord is increasing between two key government panels debating whether to prioritize tax cuts or fiscal belt-tightening.
The tax debate, launched in January, has the heads of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and the Tax Commission squaring off.
On the one hand, Heizo Takenaka, economic and fiscal policy minister, is calling for quick tax breaks to boost the flagging economy. On the other, Tax Commission head Hiromitsu Ishi, who is also president of Hitotsubashi University, stresses a combination of tax cuts and hikes to keep tax revenues unchanged.