Tag - consumption

 
 

CONSUMPTION

Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2014
Hidden tax hike surprises await unwary consumers
Tuesday's consumption tax hike will in principle affect all domestic purchases of goods or services, but there are still gray areas where consumers may get surprised by unexpected levies, government officials warn.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2014
Spending logs surprise fall as price pressures rise
Consumers unexpectedly reduce spending two months before the nation's first sales tax hike since 1997 — potential sign that emerging inflationary pressures are undermining purchasing power.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2014
Families with young kids eligible for one-time handouts
The government will give out a special child benefit of ¥10,000 to households nationwide with children aged 15 or younger to help offset the consumption tax hike to 8 percent.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2014
'Abenomics' after the tax hike
Uncertainties are deepening with regard to the course of Japan's economy after the three-percentage-point sales tax hike takes effect in April. Meanwhile, 'Abenomics' appears to be losing steam.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 24, 2014
Selective consumption tax breaks inch closer
The consumption tax is going up to 8 percent next Tuesday, but consumers also have to brace for a another hike in October 2015, when the Abe administration plans to raise it all the way to 10 percent — double what it has been since 1997.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2014
Abe aide urges more BOJ easing as sales tax increase threatens recovery
The Bank of Japan can double its annual pace of bond accumulation to ¥100 trillion to give fresh impetus to the economy after next month's sales tax increase, according to an aide to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2014
No need to break the budget
Consumers would be wise to resist the urge to break their household budget with high-end purchases before the sales tax rises by three percentage points April 1. That's because manufacturers are likely to remain as keen as ever to keep their prices competitive after the tax hike.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 5, 2014
Tokyo firms unsure of tax hike impact
A poll by the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry shows that about 40 percent of small and medium-size enterprises in the area are unsure of whether they can pass the April 1 consumption tax hike on to the prices of their products.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2014
Taxing adjustments ahead
With the consumption tax hike set to rise in less than a month, the government must make sure the hike doesn't lead to unfair transaction practices between large firms and their subcontractors and suppliers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Mar 1, 2014
Fat men frolic, Jews to be treated equally, U.S. ambassador stabbed, new sales tax a headache
Twenty-five fat members of the House of Representatives with two Government delegates and two journalists, each of whom weighs more than 165 pounds (75 kg), sat at a dinner at the Fukuiro, Yanokura, Ryogoku, on Monday evening.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 24, 2014
'Abenomics' no help to breweries
While Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies help manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corp. rack up record profits, challenges to his reforms are showing up in a more mundane spot: the outlook for beer.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 14, 2014
Only 10% eyed for welfare
The April consumption tax hike to 8 percent is expected to bring in an additional ¥5 trillion in tax revenue in fiscal 2014, but the government can use only ¥500 billion to improve social welfare.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 13, 2014
Sales tax hike to 10% may be delayed if economy stalls: minister
The government will postpone the planned sales tax hike to 10 percent from 8 percent in October 2015 if the economy faces a downturn, economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari suggested Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 13, 2014
Topvalu prices will not go up, Aeon says
Major retailer Aeon Co. plans to maintain the prices of more than 3,000 items sold under its Topvalu brand after consumption tax is raised in April from 5 percent to 8 percent, company officials said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2014
Help households, not corporations
Lowering corporate taxes, as the Abe administration wants to do, will invite criticism that Japan's businesses are being cosseted at the expense of tax relief for households.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 12, 2014
New round of stimulus to cushion second tax hike in 2015: Amari
Another round of economic stimulus replete with lush fiscal spending will be set up when the government decides to complete the doubling of the consumption tax to 10 percent in 2015, economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari confirmed Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2014
Shaky foundation for recovery
The Japanese economy appears to be on the recovery path for now, thanks to the policy of the Abe administration, but the effects from the consumption tax rise, beginning in April, and the extra financial burden that households can expect under the fiscal 2014 draft budget do not place the recovery on a solid foundation.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2014
Fee hike should boost medical care
Revenue from the average 0.1 percent increase in medical fees for the 2014 draft budget is expected to be used mainly to improve emergency medicine and pediatric and obstetrical treatment — fields where quality care has declined in some localities because of shortages of physicians.
BUSINESS
Jan 8, 2014
Sales tax hike won't up Muji prices
Ryohin Keikaku Co., the operator of Muji household goods stores, is planning to keep prices unchanged when the consumption tax is raised to 8 percent in April.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 6, 2014
Arrival of 'bad inflation' trend bodes ill for Japan's rebound
Price increases are prompting Japanese shoppers to buy less mayonnaise, showing the fragility of any economic rebound unless wages keep up with living costs.

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