与野党よやとうの消費しょうひ税率ぜいりつ引き下ひきさげ意見いけんに「重要じゅうよう財源ざいげんで適当てきとうでない」政府せいふ

At a press conference following the cabinet meeting on the 9th, Finance Minister Kato expressed a negative view regarding the proposed consumption tax rate reduction, which has been raised by both ruling and opposition parties, stating, The consumption tax is an important source of revenue that supports the social security system, so lowering the tax rate is not appropriate.

In this context, Finance Minister Kato stated, Given that social security benefit expenses are increasing significantly due to rapid population aging, the consumption tax is an important source of revenue supporting the all-generation social security system. Therefore, the government does not consider it appropriate to lower the tax rate, expressing a negative view on reducing the consumption tax rate.

Regarding the issue of further tax rate reductions: since the burden on high-income earners would also be alleviated, it is not efficient from the perspective of supporting low-income earners who are affected by rising prices. In addition, it was pointed out that retailers and others would need a considerable preparation period for tasks such as updating register systems and replacing price tags.

On top of that, he stated, Given the increasing severity of disasters and changes in the security environment, as a government responsible for the safety and security of the people, it is also important to secure fiscal reserves in preparation for emergencies. In particular, we must be cautious about implementing policies that lead to permanent increases in expenditures or decreases in revenues without securing stable financial resources.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi: The government does not consider it appropriate to lower the tax rate. At a press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi also stated, Given that the consumption tax is positioned as an important source of revenue to support an all-generation social security system amid rapidly rising social security benefit costs due to rapid aging, the government does not consider it appropriate to lower the tax rate.