Japanese Government to raise National Sales Tax to 8%

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a step on Tuesday that none of his predecessors had managed in more than 15 years – making a dent in the government’s runaway debt.

Abe, riding a wave of popularity with economic policies that have begun to stir the world’s third-biggest economy out of years of lethargy, said the government will raise the national sales tax to 8 percent in April from 5 percent.

But at the same time he will soften the blow to the nascent recovery. As the tax increase is set to raise an additional 8 trillion yen ($81.42 billion) a year, Abe will also announce an economic stimulus package worth 5 trillion yen or more, according to a final draft seen by Reuters.

Reuters

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