End to tax cuts of the 90s - what the fuck will we be paying?

[rooboy]

I read on Japan Times' website a couple of days ago (maybe yesterday, can't remember, got a massive hangover) or somewhere else that the tax cuts made in the 90s in Japan will officially be OVER!

I know they're talking about the consumption tax going up (not surprised, most other countries with it charge more including Australia) next year but wtf are they doing to local taxes and national taxes?

Sorry, can somebody who knows this shit tell me? Let's say I pay 60,000 yen in residence tax per year - how much could I expect it to go up by when they bring these tax increases in? Will they also hoist the national health insurance payments per month when they raise residence taxes?

Hoping somebody can give some info. Thanx!

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo had this:

The remaining half of the national income tax cut introduced in 1999 to stimulate the faltering economy has been scrapped as of Monday, meaning households face an effective tax hike this year amid slow income growth. The end of the national cut is only half of the unhappy news for taxpayers as a reduction in the local income tax will be scrapped in June. Abolishing both sets of cuts means taxpayers will be paying a total of 1.65 trillion yen more this year. The 1999 tax break featured a 20 percent cut in national income tax for a maximum 250,000 yen and a 15 percent reduction in the local income tax for a maximum 40,000 yen. In 2006, the size of the national income tax cut was halved to 10 percent last January. The local income tax cut was scaled down to 7.5 percent in June. The current economic recovery has prompted the government to conclude that the role of such tax breaks is now over. The Diet enacted a set of bills last March to pave the way for the abolition of both the national and local tax cuts in 2007.

According to estimates by the Finance Ministry, tax payments by a household with two children and annual income of 5 million yen will increase by about 18,000 yen a year. In the case of a similar household with annual income of 10 million yen, additional tax payments will be 89,000 yen a year, according to the estimates. The termination of the income tax cuts comes at a time when the government plans to provide a series of tax breaks benefiting companies. Mirroring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy of achieving economic growth through corporate tax cuts, the ruling coalition drew up a tax reform outline in mid-December that endorses more tax breaks for companies to boost capital investment. The proposal compiled by the ruling parties also stresses the need for debate next fall on whether the consumption tax rate should be raised from the current 5 percent. With the proposal, it is now being widely speculated that the government plans to hike the consumption tax around April 2009.

[GuyJean]

.. The termination of the income tax cuts comes at a time when the government plans to provide a series of tax breaks benefiting companies. Mirroring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy of achieving economic growth through corporate tax cuts, the ruling coalition drew up a tax reform outline in mid-December that endorses more tax breaks for companies to boost capital investment...

Cool! We all know companies waste far less than households right?... Bring on the massage whores.. And put it on the company tab!..

GJ

[Big Booger]

I hope to leave this hole before these tax hikes start hurting me financially.

[FG Lurker]

I hope to leave this hole before these tax hikes start hurting me financially.

The thing is to form a company and run as much as you can through that... That way you pay for a lot of your expenses in pre-tax dollars, not after the gov't has already had a whack at it.

[GomiGirl]

[quote="GuyJean"]Cool! We all know companies waste far less than households right?... Bring on the massage whores.. And put it on the company tab!.. ]

I guess they are trying to reduce the massage whore tabs as companies use these to spend profits so they are not hit by the HUGE taxes (50% or so) on net profits.

I would suggest they reduce company taxes but also restructure the claimable expenses. Not good news for the hostess bars, but better in the long run.