Ishiba Rules Out Sales Tax Hike During His Term, Prioritizes Social Security Funding

Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has ruled out raising the country’s sales tax during his three-year term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Bloomberg reports.

Ishiba, who assumed office on October 1, is prioritizing the funding of social security programs without altering the current tax rate of 10%.

 “I’m not considering reducing the consumption tax. For the time being, I’m not considering raising it, either,” he said on NHK.

This stance comes as the LDP gears up for a general election on October 27, with Ishiba seeking to garner support ahead of the crucial vote.

He further indicated that, at this time, he is not considering a one-off tax cut similar to the measure implemented by his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, earlier this year to alleviate the impact of persistent inflation on households.

“People are suffering from higher prices, but the government is also affected by them,” Ishiba said. “We will have to look carefully at the revenue from consumption tax, corporate tax and income tax. I’m not thinking about such a tax cut right away.”