Forum - View topicINTEREST: Bandai Rolls Out Capsule Figure Cans To Counter Tax Increase
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mgosdin
 Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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A hike of 3% in national sales taxes that goes into effect on April 1st?
I have to assume that the Japanese government is sorely lacking in fundamental humor comprehension. That is nothing but bad optics to most of the rest of the world. 
Mark Gosdin |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14889 |
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Heheh, and it's just a stepping stone too. Later it's gonna go up to the intended goal of 10%. |
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mdo7
 Posts: 6397 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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It's part of Abenomics, which I'm a big critic of. This policy involve raising tax to 8% in 2014, and raising it further to 10% in 2015 according to Wall Street Journal. I mean everything is expensive (and overpriced) enough in Japan is going to be more expensive, I mean why make it more expensive and hard to buy by raising the tax even further. There was a survey from Kyodo News and according to that article, 70% are considering curbing their spending when sales tax increases in April from the current five per cent to eight per cent. So raising the tax to what is already expensive in Japan, is not going to help the Japanese economy, it could make it worse. I don't think even the Japanese middle class could afford anything with these tax hike. |
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Actar
 Posts: 1074 Location: Singapore |
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Woah, this is news. I haven't been up to date with either politics or economics, but will this affect us who import stuff from Japan?
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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Well, if it crashes the yen, that means cheaper figs for the rest of us.
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mgosdin
Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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If it hits bottom hard enough it means NO figs, NO anime, NO manga and NO a host of other things like Boeing Dreamliners, for the rest of us. The Japanese will be too busy trying to keep the lights on to bother with goodies. What happens in Japan is important to the US and the rest of the world. That's the price of our highly integrated world economy. Mark Gosdin |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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I don't know a lot about economics, but I've read that Japan has experienced deflation for years, and consumers are taking heed of the ever-increasing worth of their money by holding off on all kinds of purchases. Increasing sales tax is supposed to kickstart consumer spending. Don't ask me if this will work or how well or where it leads.
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Mikeski
Posts: 608 Location: Minneapolis, MN |
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So... the yen is deflating, but they'll raise taxes faster than that to make saving a bad idea? "The beatings will continue until morale improves", as applied to a national economy. Wow. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14889 |
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Abenomics is about inflating the economy and devaluing the yen. PM Abe and the Bank of Japan have already been devaluing the yen the last couple years by printing money and encouraging/mandating businesses to raise salaries to match the inflation (of course a lot of businesses are reluctant to pay people more even though they'll raise the prices anyway). And so, Japanese shoppers go on spending spree before the tax hike. Of course, the question is what comes after? A spending crash? |
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mdo7
Posts: 6397 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Beside that video, I think I recall a BBC article published one month ago that back up whatever you said. Another BBC article came out yesterday regarding prices rise for ninth month ahead of tax increase in Japan. |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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Incidentally, Japan also passed a law basically restricting stores from just holding "sales" to try and lure customers back, citing this tax increase as one of the reasons.
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mdo7
Posts: 6397 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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Wow, that's weird. 
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Echo_City
Posts: 1236 |
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Wow. 8% national sales tax, taxing to spur sales, countering tax hikes by charging more...that just boggles the mind.
Japan is a world economic powerhouse and one of our strongest allies in East Asia and they're embroiled in a potential powder keg of a dispute with China, a country that is a huge "Frenemy" to the US. It's depressing that, with so much on the line, they're pulling these hare-brained shenanigans. Of course, I suppose that all of our allies are saying the same things about us so at least the feeling is mutual. 
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vallum
Posts: 58 |
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Taxes are going up, but also is the basic wage in most places in Japan. I'm not a specialist, so can someone tell me what's the point of all this?
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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The last time the sales tax increased in Japan, their economy tanked. So a lot of people are worried that this will happen again, especially as it looks as though consumers are already getting ready to pull back on spending. Even though the basic wage increased in Japan (only very recently!!!), other things are rising as well, including cost of living. If your wage increase is just going to cover your increase in housing, necessities, etc... you're probably not going to be spending much else on higher-priced goods. Likewise, companies have been increasing their prices for consumer goods in an effort to keep themselves from getting hit hard April 1 and the months to come. So all around, it's not a good mix. |
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