Ways to secure funds for better welfare services without consumption tax hike

February 8, 2012

The Japanese Communist Party on February 7 proposed a list of measures that would secure financial resources with a progressive reform in tax systems and the elimination of the wasteful use of budgetary expenditures which would dramatically improve social welfare programs.

The JCP presented its proposal as a counterproposal to a consumption tax increase the government is planning to implement as a revenue source for social welfare programs.

The JCP estimates that about 9 trillion yen, including the natural increase in social welfare spending associated with the aging population, would be necessary to dramatically improve the social welfare programs.

In order to come up with the needed revenues, the JCP calls for eliminating wasteful expenditures, reviewing the present system that favors corporations and the rich, and introducing formulating and implementing a progressive tax system.

3.6 trillion yen secured by cuts in or elimination of the following:

- Construction of dam (\300 billion)
- Construction of an international strategic container port (\140 billion)
- Construction of roads (\500 billon)
- Promotion of nuclear power generation (\300 billion)
- So-called “sympathy” budget and costs for the Special Action Committee on Okinawa and the U.S. military realignment (\270 billion)
- Purchase of helicopter aircraft carrier (\120 billion)
- Purchase of F-35 fighter aircraft (\60 billion)
- Purchase of a late-model submarine (\56 billion)
- Purchase of new-type combat vehicle (\13 billion)
- Renovation of Aegis-equipped destroyer (\36 billion)
- Government subsidies to political parties (\32 billion)
- Pork-barrel spending (\910 billion)
- Others

8.4-11.4 trillion yen secured by the following tax reform:

- Imposition of 30% tax on big dividends and stock dealings
- Increase in the maximum rates for income, residential, and inheritance taxes
- Creation of a new tax levying 1-3% tax on assets of more than 500 million yen (this would apply to only 0.1% of population)
- Review of the regressive tax system (Currently, no matter how much money the rich earn, their monthly income is calculated at no more than \620,000 in determining the amount they have to pay in pension premiums. Even if their monthly income exceeds \10 million, they are considered to earn less than \1.21 million a month when calculating their healthcare insurance and nursing-care insurance premiums.)
- Cancellation of further corporate tax breaks scheduled to be implemented next fiscal year
- Abolition of tax cuts for corporate research and development
- Review of tax incentives, including the consolidated taxation system, only for large corporations
- Creation of a new tax levying 0.01% on exchange dealings (Currently, size of transactions is about \6,000 trillion annually)
- Introduction of environment tax associated with the amount of CO2 emissions