By KENJI IZAWA/ Staff Writer
November 20, 2024 at 17:11 JST
Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, speaks at a news conference on Nov. 19. (Takeshi Iwashita)
The ruling coalition and third-largest opposition party on Nov. 20 agreed on a comprehensive economic stimulus package that could raise the income tax threshold from 1.03 million yen ($6,600) and seek to increase take-home pay.
The central government and the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito ruling parties aim to reach a Cabinet decision about the package on Nov. 22.
The comprehensive economic stimulus package includes a clear statement that the government will consider raising the so-called "1.03 million yen barrier," the minimum annual income threshold for income tax, as well as cutting taxes on gasoline.
This was a concession made by the ruling coalition to the opposition Democratic Party for the People in reaching a consensus.
The policy chiefs of the three parties met that day and reached the agreement.
In addition, the policy chiefs exchanged an inter-party agreement document that clearly states that they will work for the early passage of the supplementary budget for the current fiscal year by year-end.
That the LDP and Komeito were able to obtain an agreement from the DPP is a major step forward toward the passage of the supplementary budget, which is scheduled to be submitted to the extraordinary Diet session, which will be convened on Nov. 28.
The policy chiefs of the three parties started meeting from Nov. 12. The latest was the fifth such meeting.
The previous meeting was held on Nov. 19, during which the LDP and Komeito attempted to accommodate the DPP by stating in its revised draft of economic stimulus measures that the 1.03 million yen barrier will be raised after being debated in the tax reform discussion.
The revised draft also included a provision regarding cutting the gasoline tax, saying that it will be discussed in the context of the overall review of automobile-related taxes, and a conclusion will be reached.
In addition, the revised draft also included the phrase, “increase take-home pay.”
These are the policies the DPP had proposed in the Lower House election on Oct. 27.
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