Japanese Govt to Raise Taxes to Pay for Reconstruction

BBC World Service Asia news is reporting tonight that the Japanese Government is raising their sales tax by 3% to pay for reconstruction efforts, as soon as the end of April.

See, the Japanese understand that in order to get long term gain, there must be short term sacrifice for EVERYONE.

Americans can't even decide (a) what to cut from the budget or (b) if they should raise taxes, when in fact, they must do BOTH, and across the board, in order to address their spending issues.

The Japanese move probably won't be popular, but it will raise revenue BEFORE money is spent.

Geez, now there's a concept !

Could you just imagine the absolute outcry if the US Government tried to impose a 3% sales tax?

If this those dumb-asses don't solve the Radiation Leak at Fukoshima they won't have a population to tax.

Could you just imagine the absolute outcry if the US Government tried to impose a 3% sales tax?

This is where you and I differ. I believe that I am taxed enough. I believe that congress needs to spend it more wisely. Take a serious pay cut and cut the favor crap. This would save enough money where "they" would not have to raise taxes.

More money does not fix corruption.

This is news?

How else are they to rebuild?

One other thing I just wanted to mention is......I live in Illinois.

Patrick J. Quinn, the governor of Illinois and a Democrat, praised the decision of state lawmakers — in the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday — to raise the individual income tax rate by about 66 percent as a necessity to avert the state’s “fiscal emergency,” which includes a budget deficit of more than $13 billion, about $8 billion in unpaid bills to social service agencies, pharmacies and others, and a sinking bond rating.

www.nytimes.com...


3% is nickels and dimes compared to 66%. This is where the corruption is taking it's toll. I am sure that Japan is not immune to corruption and they must not have been doing as well as they thought. 3% please...next year it will be 6 percent.

Originally posted by chr0naut
This is news?

How else are they to rebuild?

Idk let me think for a minute??? okay i know how maybe by selling the 800+ billion dollars in U.S treasuries that they own?

I think them selling treasuries will be an inevitablity once the full price of the three disasters is fully realized.

Originally posted by liejunkie01

Could you just imagine the absolute outcry if the US Government tried to impose a 3% sales tax?

This is where you and I differ. I believe that I am taxed enough. I believe that congress needs to spend it more wisely. Take a serious pay cut and cut the favor crap. This would save enough money where "they" would not have to raise taxes.

More money does not fix corruption.

You proved my point. Even the mere mention of an increase in taxes gets a hostile response.

A pay cut for Government employees isn't going to address even 0.01% of the budget deficit. Hardly enough money that they wouldn't have to raise taxes.

reply to post by chr0naut


Never claimed it was news. Just said it was interesting that they go ahead with a tax increase instead of borrowing the money.

If a disaster on this scale happened in the USA, there would be a massive outcry if the Govt tried to raise taxes ahead of time to pay for rebuilding.

Could you imagine if the Govt had of imposed a 3% sales tax for 1, 2, or 3 years to pay for the cost of rebuiling New Orleans? There would be a massive outpouring of "not on your life" type protests around the USA. In the meantine, years later, the bulk of New Orleans still lies in ruins.

reply to post by babybunnies


Yeah, but who knows where US taxes really go?

Here in NZ we recently had an earthquake which essentially levelled the city of Christchurch. The govt here has suggested a tax to rebuild and, compared with some of the other options, seems the least painful & most effective.

Not everyone would agree, no doubt, but it seems to have been readily accepted. The PM that suggested it has actually gone way up in all opinion polls.

God forbid a government actually needs to raise funds to pay for rebuilding! It seems the only thing the United States citizens don't want to spend money on is taxes, crazy thing that.

As for the people of Japan, well this triple-hit earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster are the worst things to happen to their nation since the second world war. They will be beyond lucky if a tax hike is the only measures their government has to take. Here in the UK, after WW2 the government not only raised taxes but we had austerity, and there were mass nationalizations of industries that had been heavily impacted by the war.

So Japan, raise the taxes, nationalize TEPCO, do what you've got to do to get your country back!

The most ridiculous thing is the US tax payers are the ones who foot the bill for most of the world's disasters, historically speaking. All that aid money, troop deployment, and humanitarian activity the federal government immediately tosses at the world's problems doesn't make itself, you know? The United States wouldn't be running a massive debt and deficit if it wasn't for their government's incessant need to play world and corporate big daddy at every turn.