Senior Vice Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi believes it is impossible to apply a lower sales tax on food and other daily goods in the government's tax hike legislation.
Igarashi made the comment Saturday at a town hall meeting in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, on the government's social security and tax reform legislation, which focuses on hiking the sales tax to 10 percent from the current 5 percent in two stages to cover swelling social security costs.
The Diet began deliberating the bills earlier this month, but some opposition lawmakers from the conservative Liberal Democratic Party and ally New Komeito have been demanding that a lower tax rate be applied to daily necessities.