© Reuters. Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, speaks during a press conference following the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) Leaders’ Meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022 Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via REUTERS
By Kantaro Komiya
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday his government and ruling coalition continued to debate capital gains tax as “one of the issues”, keeping an idea alive. once seemingly abandoned amid a backlash from investors worried about market effects.
When a lawmaker pressed him for comment, Kishida told parliament the debate had “never ended”.
“The ruling party’s tax commissions continue to debate, and I hope we will reach a conclusion to the debate,” the prime minister said.
After taking office last year, Kishida proposed a review that would examine the merits of a capital gains tax. But the possibility seemed ruled out when investors objected to its potential effect on the stock market.
He proposed a tax overhaul as part of a broader program to generate economic growth and the redistribution of wealth.
But on Friday he said the debate had simply taken a back seat as his government had prioritized raising wages, assets and incomes to create a virtuous cycle of growth.
