Abe budget will reduce household incomes and hinder economic development: JCP Ichida

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Abe budget will reduce household incomes and hinder economic development: JCP Ichida

Concerning the FY 2007 draft budget which the Finance Ministry released on December 20, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on the same day issued the following statement:

The draft FY 2007 budget is pushing forward an aberrantly pro-big business economic policy with enormous tax breaks benefiting large corporations that are making record-high profits while forcing the general public to pay more in tax and slashing money for supporting living standards.

This policy will not only further widen the social gap and increase poverty but also hinder the sustainable development of the Japanese economy by reducing incomes of the general public, thus, restraining personal consumption.

The general public will suffer from not only tax hikes but the merciless cutbacks in funding for the protection of living standards.

In accordance with the "integrated expenditure and revenue reform" policy formulated under the Koizumi Cabinet, the Abe government's first budget will implement a halving of the employment-related budget (a reduction of 210 billion yen), abolishing the additional assistance to single-parent families in the livelihood protection program, and reduce subsidies for private schools.

The budget to dramatically reduce the employment-related budget at a time when the "working poor" issue has become more serious than before clearly shows how empty Abe's "challenge again" policy is.

The reduction of 700 billion yen in tax revenues distributed to local governments will further widen the fiscal capability gaps among local governments.

The budget includes research expenditures for the construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa and the strengthening of base functions in Guam, showing the Abe Cabinet's strong intention to press ahead with the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan that will eventually cost Japan some three trillion yen.

The missile defense-related expenditure has increased by 30 percent, the Defense Agency will be upgraded to a ministry, and improvements will be made in equipment for use in Self-Defense Forces' overseas operations that the SDF will undertake as their principal task.

The use of the fund earmarked for road construction for general purposes has been put off again, and setups serving various interests and promoting wasteful use of tax money by making use of special accounts have been maintained.

Wasteful large-scale public works projects will continue to be promoted as is the case with the super hub ports plan, the budget for which has increased by 40 percent.

The JCP demands a redrafting of the budget by incorporating the following policies: Stop the abolition of fixed-rate tax cuts in income and residential taxes and the tax increase for the elderly, from which the general public suffer heavily, and impose appropriate tax burdens on large corporations and the wealthy; Increasing the budget to protect living-standards will help to correct distortions in the economy and the society of Japan as evidenced in the growing poverty rate and the widening social gaps.

The JCP will struggle to achieve these aims by joining forces with the public.
- Akahata, December 21, 2006