英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 23, 2009)
Put the economy before manifesto promises
来年度税・予算　政権公約へのこだわり捨てよ（12月23日付・読売社説）

Compilation of the fiscal 2010 budget has entered the homestretch.
　２０１０年度予算の編成作業が、大詰めを迎えている。

The outline of tax revisions for next fiscal year was approved Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting, and the treatment of child-rearing allowances and an income compensation system for individual farmers has been decided, too.
　国民生活や企業活動に深くかかわる来年度の税制改正大綱が２２日に閣議決定され、子ども手当や農家への戸別所得補償など予算の主要項目の扱いも固まった。

However, a serious tax revenue shortfall has cast a shadow over the process. Tax revenues in fiscal 2009 are estimated to be 36.9 trillion yen, over 9 trillion yen less than initially expected. Tax revenues in fiscal 2010 will remain almost the same.
　一連の作業に影を落としたのが深刻な税収不足だ。０９年度の税収は、当初の見積もりより９兆円余り少ない３６・９兆円となる見込みだ。１０年度についても同程度の額にとどまりそうだ。

This situation has made measures to secure tax revenue the most important agenda item in discussing tax revisions. However, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama failed to make any decisions on this matter, preferring to stick to implementation of the Democratic Party of Japan's manifesto pledges made for August's House of Representatives election, which will lead to huge budgets and a drastic reduction of tax revenue.
　このため、税制改正では、いかに税収を確保していくかが重要なテーマになった。だが、鳩山首相は巨額の予算計上や、大幅な税収減につながる政権公約（マニフェスト）の実現にこだわって決断できなかった。

Hatoyama, having gone back and forth, finally decided the outline by accepting the requests of the DPJ submitted by its Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa.
　最後は、小沢幹事長から出された民主党の要望を受け入れる形で大枠を決める迷走ぶりだった。

The prime minister followed the same process in the budget compilation.
　予算編成でも、同じような過程をたどっている。

The government's budget plan for fiscal 2010 is to be decided soon. The prime minister in a few days must come up with a way to make a budget that can pump up the economy and offer reassurance to people with insufficient financial resources.
　１０年度予算は、近く政府案が決まる予定だ。乏しい財源で、いかに景気を下支えし、国民生活に安心をもたらす予算を作り上げていくか。鳩山首相は、あと数日で答えを出さねばならない。

Treatment of the provisionally higher tax rate on fossil fuels, including gasoline, symbolizes the confusion afflicting tax revisions. The prime minister initially was determined to abolish the provisional tax rate in April as it was the pillar of his party's election pledges, but he finally decided only to lower the rates of the automobile weight tax.
　税制改正の迷走の象徴が、ガソリン税などの暫定税率だ。鳩山首相は政権公約の目玉として、来年４月の暫定税率廃止に固執したが、最終的には自動車重量税の一部引き下げにとどめた。

　◆暫定税率維持は当然◆
We think Hatoyama's decision is reasonable. If the provisional tax rate was abolished, central and local governments would lose a total of 2.5 trillion yen in tax revenues, worsening fiscal deficits.
　国と地方で２・５兆円の税収がなくなれば、財政赤字はさらに膨らむ。この判断は当然だろう。

The DPJ had claimed that the provisional tax could be abolished because abundant new financial resources could be created by trimming fat from government spending. But wasn't it apparent from the very beginning that such a claim would end up being pie in the sky?
　暫定税率の廃止などについて民主党は、「歳出の無駄の洗い出しで、財源はいくらでも出てくる」と主張していた。だがそれが空手形に終わるのは、最初から分かりきっていたことではないか。

This shows the collapse of so-called manifesto politics. We have to say that the actions and remarks of Hatoyama, who stuck to the abolition of the provisional tax rate, have ended up deceiving the public.
　マニフェスト政治の破綻(はたん)を示すものだろう。廃止にこだわった首相の言動は、結果的に国民を欺いたと言わざるを得ない。

The prime minister is apparently unaware of his own responsibility, maintaining that his change of policy is in line with public opinion. He must give the public a detailed explanation of why he decided to change the policy.
　首相は、今回の方針転換は「国民の思いに沿ったもの」と述べるなど、責任を自覚していない。転換の経緯を、国民に詳しく説明しなければなるまい。

The government said it would spend a year or so studying the introduction of an environment tax, which was once considered to offset the scrapping of the provisional tax rate on fossil fuels. An environment tax, which would be imposed widely on fossil fuels and others, would become a heavy burden on industries and household budgets if introduced. It should be considered very carefully.
　暫定税率の代わりに導入が検討された環境税については、今後１年程度かけて検討するとした。化石燃料などに幅広く課税する環境税は、産業界や家計に重い負担となる。慎重に扱うべきだ。

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Child benefit needs rethink

The government likely will set up a special fund worth 2 trillion yen in the next fiscal budget, using such financial resources as the revenue to be generated through the maintenance of the provisionally higher tax rates. The money set aside for this specified-purpose budgetary framework will be used to help create more jobs, reinvigorate regional economies and implement other pump-priming policies.
　政府は、暫定税率の維持で得た税収などで、来年度予算に２兆円の特別枠を設け、雇用対策や地域活性化などに振り向ける方針だ。

The government has good reason to consider giving the economy an additional shot in the arm. It is also essential that the list of purposes for which such budgetary means would be used be narrowed down to a handful of measures that promise to produce an immediate economy-boosting effect.
景気への配慮は妥当であり、使途は景気に即効性がある対策に絞り込むことが肝要だ。

Another focus of the dispute over the fiscal 2010 budget was whether an income limit should be imposed on the eligibility of households to be covered by the child-rearing allowance system. The government has settled the controversy by deciding the scheme will not set such a limit. This means every family with a child or children in the middle school age bracket or younger will be paid 13,000 yen per child monthly.
　もうひとつの焦点だった子ども手当については、所得制限を設けないことで決着した。中学生以下の子どもを持つすべての家庭に、子ども１人につき月１万３０００円が支払われる。