Japan eyes consumption tax hike

[lomiller]

BTW, guess who in Japan is against this idea?

The socialists and the communists

No real surprise in that. As you get further from the center both the far right and far left have their own version of “we don’t really need to pay for things” .

On the far right it takes the form of claiming tax cuts will stimulate economic activity which will increase revenue. Since the revenue increase will “pay for the tax cuts” no actual programs need to be cut.

On the far left you see similar arguments re government spending. They argue that new spending with stimulate economic activity which will increase tax revenue. Again the new revenue is presumed to “pay for the spending” so you don’t need to raise tax rates to pay for it.


Both are completely wrong of course, but they do give you a pretty good idea of where a party or country really sits on the political spectrum. In the US there is a strong loony right and not much of a corresponding far left outlook so you only see the first argument. In more left leaning countries you see a mostly the second. In centrist countries you don’t see much of either. In more polarized countries you can see both.

 

[Puppycow]

They are also considering cutting the corporate tax rate from 40% to 25% to make Japanese companies more competitive.

To end deflation, the strategy aims to increase consumer prices during fiscal 2011, while saying it hopes the Bank of Japan will "make utmost efforts" in its monetary policy to support the economy through continued easy-money policies.
. . .
To benefit from the growing popularity of Japanese anime, manga, fashion and culture, the strategy also aims to earn 1 trillion yen through sales of this type of content.

Anime and manga? How about ponies and unicorns and rainbows too!