Japan Debates Increasing Income Tax to Fund National Defense

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

64% : " In the government's fiscal 2023 taxation reform outline, it stipulated that the rates of corporate tax, tobacco tax and income tax will be raised so that the government secures more than ¥1 trillion a year of additional tax revenue in fiscal 2027 to strengthen defense capabilities.
57% : The government and ruling parties aim to include the measure in their fiscal 2026 taxation reform outline.
52% : The government and ruling parties have begun debating on raising the income tax rate by 1 percentage point starting in January 2027 to use in strengthening the nation's defense capabilities.
51% : The special income tax for reconstruction is a time-limited measure that continues until the end of 2037, but the government is considering extending it.
51% : As the tax raise for defense purposes is a permanent measure, the tax burden on people will rise in the long-term.
50% : Itsunori Onodera, chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Tax System, told reporters after the commission's meeting on Friday, "There were no objections [about details such as the timing of when to start].
45% : They plan to lower the special income tax for reconstruction of disaster-hit areas following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake also by 1 percentage point.
37% : Though it was decided to raise the corporate and tobacco taxes starting in April 2026, the decision about when to start raising income tax had been postponed.

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