From the article of 'Petrel'
No.685 / July 12, 1998
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The opportunistic discussion about tax reduction
Hashimoto also referred to "The permanent tax reduction."
Where has the problem of the financial rebuilding and the economic rebuilding gone?
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The "tax reduction" discussion has rapidly worn reality as soon as rushing into the latter half of the election because Prime Minister Hashimoto referred to "the permanent tax reduction" and begun to say it into practice after electing. Though Hashimoto declares doing this tax reduction not for worker and "people" but for the capital (enterprise) and the high income brackets, that is, doing it as inseparable with "Permanent tax revision." Of course the proposal of the tax reduction of Hashimoto is not the one with something consistent belief nor foresight. The government, the Liberal-Democratic Party only took out such an insistence from the speculation for the advantageous fight of the House of Councilors' election and from the maneuver to make the standpoint of the opposition party who had the tax reduction to the sales one in the election war powerless. They have insisted up to now, "We cannot easily express such as the permanent tax reduction" to defend the policy of the financial rebuilding decided last autumn.
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The financial rebuilding route of the government, the Liberal-Democratic Party became hollow and was made nonsense completely because Hashimoto promised the execution of "the permanent tax reduction."
Actually, it was the autumn of last year that this policy had been resolved in the Diet, from when as much as one year had not passed yet. Though all political parties are now behaving as if the financial rebuilding does not matter, but they emphasized at that time that Japan could do nothing but decline and there was no future without financial rebuilding, and the mass communication also roared for it at the top of their voice.
How amnestic they are? How inconstant and opportunistic they are?
Did they become not to care about such as the financial rebuilding? Is it that they do not care even if finance would collapse? Of course, we cannot think so.
The foresight of as much as the loss of 2 trillion yen in the financial income of nation is reported just at this time and it is announced that the deficit-covering bond should be issued for about 1.5 trillion yen further. (It is the increase of the debt of nation.)
Was it not that the financial reformation bill resolved last autumn expressed to decrease the new issue of the deficit-covering bond every year from 1998 terms and to make the issue zero in 2003 terms, to suppress the ratio of the total financial deficit of nation and local to the gross domestic product below 3%, and made it the target and index of "healthy finance"? (Though we dare to teach for all the parties "amnestic" and irresponsible at all.)
And as the result, the deficit-covering bond in 1998 terms has been reduced to 7.1 trillion yen at first in the budget. However, 2 trillion yen for the addition of the special tax reduction already joins and it is necessary to add revenue shortage in addition for about 1.5 trillion yen.
The deficit-covering bond becomes as many as 10.6 trillion yen in total, it expands largely and is far from reduction.
The central powers and the local powers can do nothing but pile the debt further even though only the debt of the nation becomes to 400 trillion yen, and to add the debt of the local powers it becomes as many as 500 and tens of trillion yen. Is this not exactly the appearance a bourgeois nation fails and is becoming dismantled?
Just therefore the Hashimoto regime was eager to execute the financial rebuild decisively with "indomitable resolve" or even if "being covered with flames," and had resolved the financial reformation bill.
The Hashimoto expresses such as "the permanent tax reduction" now and relies on empty popularity in the election. It is no exaggeration to say that there is neither constancy nor consistency or belief here!
We have already exposed the fantasy, the emptiness, and the cheating of the tax reduction discussion of the opposition party. Of course, this is not that the financial rebuilding route of the Liberal-Democratic Party is right even in some measure. However, the deep consciousness of crisis of bourgeois power to the Japanese capitalism and to the current state of the nation was reflected there.
However, the recession deepened rapidly after last autumn has eliminated all the "new" liberalistic fantasy, that is, the chat about the "effect" of free competition and market economy," "inexpensive" (small) government and "self responsibility," and the curse against the Keynesian principle at once.
It is quite clear that the government, the Liberal-Democratic Party has returned -practically and not to mention the thought- to their old home of the keynesian principle and the financial expansion policy now. They could do nothing but do so. Otherwise they might expelled from the seat of the regime at once on the charge of do-nothing and the lack of policy.
However, Hashimoto is still halfway and does not stop trying to look smart. The reason is that he talked about the permanent tax reduction but he has emphasized it is necessary to unite it with "the revision of tax system."
To say about "the revision of tax system," it is one of the central insistences that the "new" liberalism advocated. That is, it is the one like that it is necessary to make the system to promote free competition further with improving the present "egalitarian" method of taxing.
They say that the present income tax is extremely graduated and it deprives the energy and the effort of people to the economic activity. The working will disappears if one is taken tax in the great deal even if he works hard and comes to obtain a high income, so it is the key to activate economy to reduce the tax of the high profitable person, and so on.
It is clear at a glance that such an insistence is class one plainly. It is the one that had been insisted obstinately again and again recently and it makes a pair with such as the introduction of the consumption tax.
Their insistence is the one that the highest tax rate of the income tax and the residence tax becomes to as many as 65%, and person cannot have the work desire in such a high tax rate, so it is necessary to lower at least about 50%. Hashimoto immediately jumps at such an insistence, too.
However, it is on the party obtaining the income of about 40 million yen in year who are laid 65% in tax rate, and it is quite irrelevant to the usual worker, so it is irrelevant to such as "work desire." The one who obtains such large amount of income is the rule stratum, the elite in this bourgeois society including the manager, and they are busy to increase their income further. Though it is often said that "The rich people are more stingy" and "The rich people are more dirty in money," it might be exactly the maneuver like acting out it.
Might the imposition of the tax of 65% on the income exceeding 40 million yen be a heavy load for them? For instance, if this Mr. bourgeois increases the income from 40 million yen to 41 million yen, to lay on this increased one million yen by 650 thousand yen or by 500 thousand yen is differ only 150 thousand yen. Nevertheless this rich party indulges in the dirty maneuver to escape the taxation of 150 thousand yen.
Do you say that your income does not increase only by one million yen but by 10 million yen, and if so the benefit of the tax reduction is not 150 thousand yen but 1.5 million yen?
However, the Mr. bourgeois increase his income by 3.5 million yen even if he would be imposed 65% tax rate on this 10 million yen. If so, what kind of complaint can he say against the 65%?
Of course, we could not doubt about this 10 million yen to be an unearned income with setting aside the first 40 million yen. No one will be able to say that it is an income by right work. (The worker knows that it is not possible to get as many as 10 million yen easily in addition to 40 million yen in case of the income of right work.)
It might perhaps be the dividend and the interest of stock and debenture, or the high pay for a "company executive," or the money got by the selling of stock and land. Anyway, it might be the unearned income, the incorrect income based on the exploitation of workers. (However, it is right in the bougeois-standard.) The Hashimoto's maneuver trying to lower the tax rate on such income would be too mean and perversion.
We thoroughly expose and denounce such Hashimoto's "Tax reformation."
Hashimoto tries to entice the people by the flattery with promising "permanent tax reduction." It is also the maneuver to make all the opposition party powerless, which have not been able to fight the Liberal-Democratic Party by any policy but the makeshift and dwarfish policy as "tax reduction."
Moreover, the Hashimoto regime tries to execute the tax reduction in the shape that is disadvantageous for the general public of the worker and advantageous for the capital, rich people, and no pains class. What a shameless reactionary he is?