A bold restructuring initiative to abolish local taxes and replace them with environmental taxes A major shift in the tax system that will build bridges to the future

A bold restructuring initiative to abolish local taxes and replace them with environmental taxes A major shift in the tax system that will build bridges to the future

The concept of abolishing all local taxes and replacing them with an environmental tax of the same amount is a bold proposal that would fundamentally reorganize Japan's tax system. Local taxes, such as residence tax and enterprise tax, are complicated and costly to collect, and their operation is not transparent. In particular, the inhabitant tax system is flawed in that it imposes an excessive burden on those who are unemployed or facing a decline in income because the tax is levied based on the previous year's income. By sorting out these institutional distortions and integrating them into an environmental tax that is levied according to the environmental burden, the tax collection mechanism can be greatly simplified, and administrative efficiency can be expected to be improved through the reallocation of tax staff. For example, by transferring tax department personnel to welfare, nursing care, and other essential local fields, the quality of local government management wil
l certainly improve. In addition, the abolition of local taxes will be converted directly into environmental taxes, which will not increase the burden on the public as a whole and will increase acceptance of the new system. Furthermore, the surplus generated by the reduction of tax collection costs can be used to redeem government bonds, paving the way for fiscal rehabilitation. This is a reform proposal that will build a bridge to the future by simultaneously promoting administrative rationalization, reducing the environmental burden, and improving fiscal soundness.