英字新聞

2011/09/18
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 17
EDITORIAL: Tax increase plan 1st acid test of Noda's political leadership
復興増税―野田新体制の試金石だ

The government has proposed options for a temporary tax increase to finance measures to rebuild areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
　東日本大震災の復興財源の柱となる臨時増税について、政府が選択肢を示した。

The government Tax Commission came up with three different plans: increasing income and corporate taxes; raising the tobacco tax and some other levies in addition to raising income and corporate taxes; increasing the consumption tax rate. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda then narrowed the choice to two by taking the consumption tax increase off the table.
増税対象として、政府税制調査会が（１）所得税及び法人税（２）この二つにたばこ税なども加える案（３）消費税の３案をまとめ、野田首相が消費税案を退けて２案に絞った。

The government has estimated that about 16 trillion yen of new money will have to be raised over the next five years. The figure doesn't include the 6 trillion yen that has been secured for the second supplementary budget, but includes the amount diverted into financing the extra budget from some revenue sources earmarked for basic pension benefit payouts.
　政府が今後５年で必要と見込む財源は、２回の補正予算で確保した６兆円を除き、補正予算に流用した基礎年金財源分などを加えて１６兆円前後に達する。

The government will first issue special reconstruction bonds. The money needed to pay back the debt will be raised through a combination of the proposed temporary tax increase, spending cuts and sales of state assets and other measures to obtain nontax revenues. The expected increases in national and local taxes will total about 11 trillion yen.
　まずは復興債を発行するが、その返済財源を臨時増税と歳出の見直し、国有財産の売却などで確保する。増税分は国と地方合わせて約１１兆円になる。

We have been urging the government to focus mainly on income and corporate taxes in the tax increase plan. We believe an additional income from a consumption tax increase should be used to pay for social security spending, which is bound to keep growing in coming years. We support Noda's decision.
　私たちは、所得税と法人税を中心に検討するよう主張してきた。消費税は今後、膨張が避けられない社会保障費に充てるべきだと考えるからだ。野田首相の判断を支持したい。

As for the period of the income tax increase, the government's tax panel proposed two options--five years and 10 years. Noda has chosen the 10-year option.
　所得税の増税期間について、政府税調は５年と１０年の２案を示したが、野田首相は「１０年」を指示した。

If an increase in the tobacco tax is not included in the package, tax payments by individual taxpayers will increase by 5.5 percent.
たばこ税の増税を絡めない場合、本来の納税額から５．５％増やすことになる。

Tax payments by companies will grow by 10 percent for three years. The 5-percent corporate tax cut and special tax breaks that were slated to be implemented this fiscal year will be curtailed.
The period was limited to three years in order to prevent the increased tax burden on businesses from causing negative effects on the economy or accelerating the hollowing-out of industries due to a growing trend among companies to shift production overseas.
　法人税では今年度に予定していた５％幅の減税と租税特別措置の縮小を実現した上で、３年間に限って納税額を１０％増しにする。増税期間を短期間にとどめることで、景気への悪影響や空洞化への懸念に配慮した案になった。

Now the debate on the tax increase will move to the tax system council of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. After the party came to power two years ago, the DPJ abolished the council under its policy of promoting centralized and integrated policymaking at the government. But the Noda administration has revived the panel in response to complaints among party members that they don't have enough opportunities to get involved in the policymaking process.
　議論の舞台は、民主党税制調査会に移る。２年前の政権交代後、政策決定を政府に一元化する方針に従って廃止したが、政策決定にかかわれないという党内の不満を受けて野田政権が復活させた。

There are still many DPJ lawmakers who are opposed to or are skeptical about raising taxes, including executive members of the tax council.
　党内では、税調の役員を含め増税への反対・慎重意見が少なくない。

It is important for the government to make serious efforts to minimize the tax increase.
もちろん、増税額を抑える取り組みは大切だ。

The measures that can be taken to do so are clearly not limited to the cuts in childcare allowances and the suspension of the plan to make expressways toll-free included in the DPJ's policy agreement with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. There must be other ways to trim government spending.
自公両党を加えた３党で合意した子ども手当の見直しや高速道路無料化の見送りにとどまらず、歳出はまだまだ見直せるはずだ。

The government's assets that have been cited as candidates for sale include the government's stakes in Japan Tobacco Inc. and Tokyo Metro Co. The government's asset portfolio should be scrutinized closely to determine other salable assets.
　政府資産の売却では、ＪＴや東京メトロの政府保有株などが候補に挙げられている。ほかにもないか検証したい。

If, however, the government, in a desperate attempt to avoid a big tax increase, tries to sell assets for which the conditions for sales are not good or borrow money from special accounts, it would be adopting a wrong-headed approach to tackling the challenge.
　だが、増税から逃げようとするあまり、売却の条件が整っていない資産に飛びついたり、特別会計から安易に借金したりしては本末転倒である。

The principle that the burden of reconstruction from the disaster should not be shifted to future generations has already been confirmed in the recently enacted basic law for the rebuilding work and the three-party policy agreement among the DPJ, the LDP and Komeito.
　「復興に伴う負担を後の世代に先送りしない」という理念は、すでに成立した復興基本法や民自公の３党合意でも確認されている。

In line with this principle, the government should be straightforward with the public about the need of a tax increase and try to seek public support for the step while making flat-out efforts to eliminate unnecessary expenditures.
政府のムダを徹底的に削る作業を進めつつ、必要な増税は国民に正面から問いかけなければならない。

The tax increase initiative will sorely test the political mettle and prowess of the Noda administration.
　税調を復活させた野田新体制の真価が問われる。