The Noda Cabinet on Friday endorsed and submitted to the Diet a bill aimed at raising the consumption tax from the current 5 percent to 8 percent from April in 2014 and to 10 percent from October 2015. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is so obsessed with a tax hike that he seems oblivious to the possible negative effects it could have on the economy.
A law has been already enacted to increase taxes to fund the reconstruction of areas hit by the 3/11 triple disasters, the main features being a 2.1 percent surcharge on income tax for 25 years from January 2013 and a ¥1,000 surcharge on resident tax for 10 years from June 2014. One wonders whether Mr. Noda has carefully considered the wisdom of raising the consumption tax when the public is already being forced to shoulder a heavier tax burden.
Before the Cabinet's endorsement of the bill for the consumption tax hikes, Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers held an eight-day meeting through Wednesday in which they spent about 45 hours discussing the drafting of the bill. The meeting was drawn out because some DPJ lawmakers put up fierce resistance to the plan.