Japan’s Opposition DPFP to Prioritize Income Tax Reform, Also Seek Consumption Tax Cut in Inter-Party Talks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, November 7, 2024

The Democratic Party for the People’s demands in policy talks with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito will include quickly addressing the so-called ¥1.03 million threshold and a temporary reduction in the consumption tax rate to 5%, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

According to a draft outlining all the policies on the agenda, the opposition DPFP will seek to prioritize a review of the annual income threshold above which people must pay income tax, and to lift the freeze on the so-called trigger clause to enable a temporary gasoline tax cut.

The draft consists of four sections – this fiscal year’s supplementary budget, year-end tax system reforms, political reforms and medium-term issues.

The DPFP wants to change the income tax system so that students working part-time and others who earn more than ¥1.03 million will not create a higher tax burden for their parents who claim them as dependents.

In the supplementary budget, the DPFP will call for air conditioners to be installed at gymnasiums that become key facilities in the wake of a disaster. It will also seek to reduce electricity and gas bills.

According to the draft, the DPFP wants the changes to the ¥1.03 million ceiling on tax-free income to become permanent. Consequently, the DPFP is calling for the total income tax exemption threshold to be increased to ¥1.78 million, including a basic deduction.

The draft also specifies that the DPFP wants to temporarily lower the consumption tax rate to 5% from its current rate of 10%.

The DPFP will press for the abolition of political activity funds that parties provide to their lawmakers, and for a third-party body to be established to monitor political funds before the end of the current fiscal year, which runs until the end of March.

DPFP Policy Research Council Chairperson Makoto Hamaguchi was to meet with his LDP and Komeito counterparts Friday and present his party’s wishes regarding the supplementary budget. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who also is LDP president, is scheduled to hold talks with DPFP leader Yuichiro Tamaki on Monday.