Japan Press Weekly

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2014 June 4 - 10 [ECONOMY]

Nissan Motor pays only 10.9% in corporate taxes and not the 35% normally imposed

Nissan Motor paid only 10.9% in corporate taxes between FY 2008 and FY 2013 when 35% is the rate normally levied on corporations at present.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Inoue Satoshi during an Upper House Audit Committee meeting on June 9 showed a list of corporations and their corporate tax burden ratio over the past six years.

Mitsubishi Corporation earning more than 1.8 trillion yen in profits came at the top of the list at paying only 6.2% in corporate taxes followed by Hoya Corporation (8.3%), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (10.9%), Komatsu Ltd. (13.7%), Kyocera Corporation (13.9%), TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K.(14.1%), and Honda Motor Co., Ltd.(18%).

These corporations benefitted enormously from preferential tax measures such as R&D tax breaks and a system of tax-exempt dividends from overseas subsidiaries.

In response to the government’s explanation that corporate tax cuts are good for the overall economy, Inoue said, “They only benefit large shareholders and help large corporations to hoard more money in internal reserves, but never result in an increase in workers’ wages.”

He suggested that the policy of imposing further tax hikes on ordinary people while giving further tax breaks for large companies is ineffective in expanding consumer spending and stimulating domestic demand which are needed to lead to a positive growth cycle to the country.

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The government advisory Council on Fiscal and Economic Policy, later on the same day, presented a draft outline of a basic fiscal policy calling for further tax relief for businesses.

Based on the proposed outline, the government will discuss details including the range of the cut in corporate taxes and the introduction of a transitional period.