Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that capital gains tax continues to be “one of the issues” discussed by his government, reigniting the possibility of a policy decision apparently previously scrapped following resistance from investors.
Pushed by a lawmaker for comment during a parliamentary discussion, Kishida said that the debate on capital gains tax had “never ended.”
“Ruling party tax panels are continuing to debate, and I hope we reach a conclusion out of the debate,” the prime minister said.
Kishida had initially proposed a review on capital gains tax and dividends on taking office last year, as part of his plans to ensure better wealth redistribution across Japanese society. Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party had made no mention of such policies in its campaign platform for the October 31st general elections
The suggestion had prompted an angry backlash from investors, and was previously believed to have been forgotten about, with the prime minister stating shortly after the fierce reaction that he had no plans to implement any changes “for now”.
But in his latest comments Kishida has said the debate was merely suspended with his government facing bigger priorities at the time, indicating a wish to revisit the issue in the near future.