Japan's automotive industry Thursday lambasted the government's plans to make tax revenues hitherto earmarked for road construction available for general purposes.

Auto lobbyists claim that using the money for other purposes would constitute a betrayal of motorists' trust.

Automakers and other automotive-related companies started collecting signatures from car owners nationwide last month to illustrate taxpayer opposition to the government's plans. Some 1 million signatures have thus far been obtained, according to the Japan Automobile Federation.

The following are basic facts concerning the taxes that are now specifically used for road-related expenses:

How are tax revenues earmarked for road construction purposes?

The government created a special account in 1954 to speed up the construction of roads in response to the nation's rapid motorization. Based on the beneficiary-payment principle, road-related taxes are imposed on car owners and revenues from the taxes are placed in that special account.

What are road-related taxes?

The seven road-related taxes consist of national and local taxes. They are gasoline tax, light oil tax, liquefied petroleum gas tax, regional road tax, acquisition tax and tonnage tax.

The gas tax is charged at a rate of 48.6 yen per liter. The regional road tax, to fund regional roads, is charged at 5.2 yen per liter of gasoline.

When purchasing a vehicle, a motorist must pay 5 percent of the vehicle's price as acquisition tax.

Tonnage tax is also imposed on car owners in accordance with the weight of a vehicle at every regular vehicle inspection.

These tax rates have been increased -- up to 2.5 times -- since the 1970s to accelerate road construction projects.

Why is the government trying to use the road-related funds for general purposes?

Recent cutbacks in public works spending -- due to budgetary constraints imposed by the Finance Ministry to reduce the huge fiscal deficit -- have created a surplus in the road-related special account.

Revenue generated from the road-related taxes is expected to exceed 5.7 trillion yen in fiscal 2005, and 5.2 trillion yen was set aside for road-related projects in the 2005 budget.

In late September, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered each ministry to review the use of tax revenues in the special accounts. The Finance Ministry has started debating whether money in the road-related special account can be shifted to the general account so that it can be used to cover rising health-care costs and mounting debt.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry was initially reluctant to endorse this plan, fearing it would lose budget funds.

But after Koizumi insisted the road taxes be shifted to the general account, the transport ministry and the Finance Ministry began debating how much of the road construction money should be moved in this fashion.

The government plans to decide what to do with this special account by the end of the year.

Why does the automotive industry oppose the government's plans?

Auto-related companies claim that auto tax revenues are still necessary for various road-maintenance and improvement projects designed to ease traffic congestion and reduce accidents. These include measures to reduce street parking and improve the ring road system in the metropolitan area.

"Car owners have been paying higher tax rates for some 30 years because they agreed to pay for the nation's road construction programs," Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association Chairman Itaru Koeda, who also cochairs Nissan Motor Co., told a news conference Thursday.

"If the road-related taxes are to be shifted to the general budget account (because there is a surplus), the government should first lower the higher tax rates to the original levels."

Koeda, who attended the news conference together with Toyota Motor Corp. Vice Chairman Fujio Cho and Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui, denounced the government, saying it would be "a breach of promise" to use this tax revenue for other purposes without taxpayer consent.