Funny money for everybody!

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl]Planned tax cuts could take form of cash payments or coupons
TOKYO, Oct. 26 (AP) - (Kyodo)--The government is considering implementing tax cuts planned for the current 2008 fiscal year in the form of cash payments or coupons, which are likely to have more of an impact in shoring up the economy, senior officials of the ruling coalition in charge of tax systems said Sunday.
Cash payments or coupons would reach a wider range of people than tax cuts, which would exclude people earning less than the minimum taxable income...more...

[Mock Cockpit]

Any guesses on how much it will be? I reckon 30,000.

[Iraira]

Any guesses on how much it will be? I reckon 30,000.

Hey that pays for another Mexican food party at my place. The last one was sponsored by GW. I'm glad you all didn't show up to the last party...we woulda run out of beer.

[Mock Cockpit]

Hey that pays for another Mexican food party at my place. The last one was sponsored by GW. I'm glad you all didn't show up to the last party...we woulda run out of beer.

This one will be going into the Buy A Fucking Huge Big Television fund at my place. If it was like the other one (1999? from memory) it'll only go to families with kids. Anyone remember how much that was? 20,000 rings a bell.

[Doctor Stop]

It's the same old, same old. The LDP did it before and it had no effect on the economy or consumer spending. Next we'll probably see the government introduce introduce a new currency denomination just like they did before, but unlike the 2000 yen note brainchild they had in the year 2000, a 2009 yen note won't be anywhere as catchy.

When's the last time anyone received a 2000 yen note? When's the last time that anyone's been able to get rid of one, like say in a vending machine?

[pheyton]

I'm not sure how the Japanese Treasury system is set up, but this could be a two fold win.

1. Everyone gets some spending money except the uber wealthy. (Who knows if they will spend it though) Alcohol companies will enjoy better earnings since that is about the only thing you can buy for 30,000, a good night out.

2. If, as I suspect, Japan prints it's own cash then they can create this cash give away out of thin air. In theory wouldn't that push the yen back up over 100yen to the $? Wouldn't it devalue the currency?

[FG Lurker]

When's the last time anyone received a 2000 yen note? When's the last time that anyone's been able to get rid of one, like say in a vending machine?

You used to be able to get them out of Lawson ATMs but they have recently replaced them all and the new ones don't spit out 2000yen notes. I imagine they got a LOT of complaints from people unhappy to get 3 or 4 of them.

Personally I like the 2000yen note and wish it had taken off. Much like the US$2 bill though I imagine we won't see it gain popularity anytime soon.

[Charles]

More funny money here. It's not funny at all. It appears that this note was worth about 50 cents.

[Iraira]

You used to be able to get them out of Lawson ATMs but they have recently replaced them all and the new ones don't spit out 2000yen notes. I imagine they got a LOT of complaints from people unhappy to get 3 or 4 of them.

Personally I like the 2000yen note and wish it had taken off. Much like the US$2 bill though I imagine we won't see it gain popularity anytime soon.

Once or twice a year I get a 2000 yen bill....which is always kind of a surprise. I try to pass it onto someone else (translation: get rid of it)ASAP....the cosmic karma of the ever-traveling 2000 yen satsu....if it rests in one wallet for too long it shall perish.

[pheyton]

Once or twice a year I get a 2000 yen bill....which is always kind of a surprise. I try to pass it onto someone else (translation: get rid of it)ASAP....the cosmic karma of the ever-traveling 2000 yen satsu....if it rests in one wallet for too long it shall perish.

Wow, when did this happen with the 2000yen note? I use to use them in Tokyo all the time. Liked them and never had any problems.

[Mike Oxlong]

It's the same old, same old. The LDP did it before and it had no effect on the economy or consumer spending. Next we'll probably see the government introduce introduce a new currency denomination just like they did before, but unlike the 2000 yen note brainchild they had in the year 2000, a 2009 yen note won't be anywhere as catchy.

When's the last time anyone received a 2000 yen note? When's the last time that anyone's been able to get rid of one, like say in a vending machine?

Still really popular in Okinawa, as Shurei-mon is depicted on the note. One of my side jobs pays me with an envelope full every month. I don't think any vending machines take them, with the possible exception of the monorail ticket machines (which I hardly ever use).

[Iraira]

Wow, when did this happen with the 2000yen note? I use to use them in Tokyo all the time. Liked them and never had any problems.

They aren't a problem...I mean no one has refused to take the damn things, which probably is illegal not to mention stupid (but I did). Just feels weird having one in the wallet, kinda like hoping that zit on the forehead heals before your date on Saturday, but you just squeezed it and a yellowish puss came out and the whole areas kinda red.....you known what I mean?

[pheyton]

They aren't a problem...I mean no one has refused to take the damn things, which probably is illegal not to mention stupid (but I did). Just feels weird having one in the wallet, kinda like hoping that zit on the forehead heals before your date on Saturday, but you just squeezed it and a yellowish puss came out and the whole areas kinda red.....you known what I mean?

ah, well ya. Thanks for clarifying.

[Mike Oxlong]

http://www.boj.or.jp/en/type/release/zuiji/kako02/gizo2s.htm

* Counterfeit banknotes have never circulated in large quantities in Japan. However, the environment for banknote security is changing significantly with technological development in the fields of personal computers, scanners, color copiers, and printing, as well as with an increase in banknotes in circulation.

* The 2,000 yen note carries more diversified anti-counterfeiting features than existing denominations of banknotes (1,000 yen, 5,000 yen, and 10,000 yen). It is hoped that an understanding of these features will help to maintain confidence in Bank of Japan notes...

[Mock Cockpit]

Mmmmm looks like 60,000 yen for me! I'm guessing no kids= no money?

[Taro Toporific]

[Iraira]

featuring an average 60,000 yen in cash benefits for a family of four.

Aso is bribing me to be his friend, with potentially more money than GW gave me to be his friend.
I'm assuming that this 6 man is gonna be given to any taxpayer regardless of their country of ethnic origin....I just need to adopt a wife and two kids at least temporarily to get the full 6 man, right?
I used the GW rebate ($300) to fund an excellent Mexico food party, so if I can get the 6 man from my buddy Aso, that's two Mexican food parties. I can do the math....now lemme at the current financial crisis with my abacus!

[Mock Cockpit]

Aso is bribing me to be his friend, with potentially more money than GW gave me to be his friend.
I'm assuming that this 6 man is gonna be given to any taxpayer regardless of their country of ethnic origin....I just need to adopt a wife and two kids at least temporarily to get the full 6 man, right?
I used the GW rebate ($300) to fund an excellent Mexico food party, so if I can get the 6 man from my buddy Aso, that's two Mexican food parties. I can do the math....now lemme at the current financial crisis with my abacus!

I'm gonna use my dough to get a few extra inches tacked on......to the TV I wanna buy.

[Charles]

Aso is bribing me to be his friend, with potentially more money than GW gave me to be his friend.

Yeah, and look how well that worked for Bush.

[Marked Trail]

Yosano suggests putting income cap on cash benefit program
TOKYO, Nov. 1 KYODO
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said Saturday the Japanese government may consider putting limits by household income on the recently unveiled cash benefit program totaling 2 trillion yen.
''It is strange to distribute money to the upper-income class,'' Yosano said during a TV program. ''We need to distribute to those who need the support to their livelihood.''
Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday unveiled a new economic stimulus package worth 26.9 trillion yen to prop up the stagnating economy, including an average of 60,000 yen in cash benefit for a family of four.
While the government plans to hand out the cash benefit to every household in the country, Yosano emphasized that high-income families should be excluded from the program.
''If we pay to those who make 30 million yen (in household income), people may call it wasteful spending,'' he said.
But Yosano refrained from providing specifics on where the line should be drawn on household income, highlighting the difficulties that the government will have in working out the cumbersome procedures and the tricky details.
''There are people who say 10 million yen or others who call for 8 million yen'' for where the income cap should start, he said.
Separately, Natsuo Yamaguchi, policy chief of the New Komeito party also called into question whether the special benefit should be paid to the rich and urged for larger benefits for households with children or the elderly.
On the basis that the benefit will average 12,000 yen per person, Yamaguchi suggested an additional 10,000 yen should be paid for every child less than 15 years old and for an elderly person over 65 years old.
''We should be slightly more generous to child-rearing and elderly households,'' he said on a TV program.
''There is debate on whether there is a need to pay (benefits) to people with very high income,'' he added.

http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=407459

[Iraira]

Single male FG here, sadly not making quite 30 million yen a year....wants to know when and how much he's getting....got a party to plan.

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

More info is dribbling in....

[INDENT]
NBR'S JAPAN FORUM (POL) Mr. Aso's faults
11/11/2008 5:40:00 PM --- Minoru Mochizuki
....the government seems to have finalized the amount that the government is going to pay (out of our tax money, so that it should be taken rather as a refund) each citizen a sum of 12,000 yen.... over 60 [years old], the government will pay an extra 8,000 yen...


Handouts no simple matter / Benefits for all, but onus on high-income earners to forgo them
Yomiuri.co.jp - Nov. 12, 2008....plans to provide each person with 12,000 yen and those aged 18 and under or 65 and over an additional payment of 8,000 yen.
Talks on the way the benefits will be disbursed are ongoing. However, it seems most likely the head of a household will apply for the benefits via his or her local government, which would then pay the benefits into the applicant's bank account.
In this case, local governments would mail exchange tickets to all households in the municipality and the head of a household would be expected to visit the government office with the coupon, using identification such as a driver's license.
Local governments will check whether an applicant's household contains people aged 18 and younger, or 65 and older, and pay the benefits of all members of the household into a bank account designated by the applicant.
However, about 50 municipalities, such as the village of Aogashimamura in Tokyo and Yonagunicho, Okinawa Prefecture, likely will distribute the benefits in cash by hand, as they have no municipality-designated financial institution.
(Nov. 12, 2008 )
[/INDENT]

[hundefar]

From the latest Aso Cabinet Email magazine:

Getting out and about to take stock of realities

On Saturday of last week, I visited the shopping district in Kameari,
in Tokyo.

I am sure that for some people the name Kameari, even if they have never
actually been there, will call to mind the manga "Kochira Katsushika-ku
Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo" ("This is the Police Box in Front of Kameari
Park, Katsushika Ward.")

The Kameari shopkeepers are unfazed by a shopping mall that recently opened
nearby; instead, they are using their ingenuity to vitalize the shopping
district by capitalizing on the popularity of the main character of
the manga, Ryo-san. Indeed, their attitudes were extremely positive and their
enthusiasm unbridled.

Three bronze statues of Ryo-san have been erected in three different locations
in the shopping district. The statues are just the right height for children
to be able to shake hands with them without having to look up to meet their
gaze. The effect of all this is that people wishing to take souvenir snapshots
will gravitate toward the shopping district.

That is the whole point. If people enter the shopping district in a steady
stream, then their purse strings are likely to become a bit looser. At any
rate, it will rejuvenate the district -- it strikes me as a very good idea.

"We would still have a tough time even if we competed with megastores over
prices," said one young person, who had taken over his parents' store.
"We want to create a flow of people coming in so that we can coexist with
the megastores." I was encouraged by the wisdom of his words, in which
I sensed a measure of strength.

The shopping district is the center of the local community; a vigorous
shopping district will breathe life into the community. I am convinced that
the Government must actively support ideas that encourage people to visit
shopping districts, which will give the districts a new lease on life.

[Taro Toporific]

[Greji]

[omae mona]

I wonder if it will be available to the foreign spouses of Japanese nationals who are here on another visa status. Will be interesting to see where the "burden of proof is", and whether they're going to find the foreigners or the foreigners need to go find the money! (I think I can guess...)

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

Copycats...

[INDENT]Taiwan hands out vouchers in bid to lift faltering economy
Jan. 18, 2009
TAIPEI (AFP) --Taiwan started handing out shopping vouchers to each of the island's residents on Sunday, as part of a 2.5-billion-dollar scheme aimed at boosting the island's flagging economy.
Every one of the island's 22.7 million citizens is entitled to the coupons, worth 3,600 Taiwan dollars (107 US) per person, regardless of age, and they can be spent on goods ranging from food and clothing to electronic appliances.....
[/INDENT]

[omae mona]

It looks like each local government is responsible for handling payments, so the system is not completely standardized. Tokyo's Meguro ward just put up detailed procedures and information (Japanese only) yesterday for its residents. We barbarians are also entitled to the payments, as planned. Some of the key points for Meguro:

• Recipients are based on Feb 1 residence status. Foreigners are eligible unless they have short-term status (e.g. tourist) or are illegal residents.
• Payments go to the head of household, but foreigners are paid separately
• 12,000 yen per person, or 20,000 yen for those under 18 or over 65.
• They will start mailing out notifications on April 7. You should contact the ward office if you don't receive it by the end of April.
• You can return the application between April 15th and October 16th.
• Application can be returned by mail or at the ward office, but mail is preferred.
• In general, payments are by furikomi to bank accounts, starting at the end of April. If you have a valid reason (like no bank account), then you can receive cash at the ward office instead, beginning June 15th.

I think the top 3 bullet points are applicable nationwide, but the other details may be specific to Meguro. I suspect other local government offices are going to do things pretty much the same way, though.

Enjoy your funny money!