Japanese PM assures wage hike a priority

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida assured on Monday that he would prioritize boosting wages through tax incentives instead of imposing higher levies on capital gains and dividends to tackle the country’s income gap.

Answering questions from oppositions in the parliament for the first time since becoming prime minister, Kishida said that a near-term priority would be to put the economy on a solid footing with bold monetary easing, flexible fiscal steps, and growth strategy.

Kishida cited the creation of a virtuous cycle of growth and redistribution among the options when asked about his idea to raise capital gains tax.

He further stated that there are things that must be done first, such as the reformation of the tax system to achieve wage increases.

To this end, Kishida said that the government would overhaul corporate tax to help companies that are intent on increasing wages.

Kishida, whose key policy agenda was the redistribution of wealth, previously remarked that adjusting taxes on capital gains and dividends would be among the options in doing so.

However, Kishida walked back on this statement on Friday, announcing that he would not change investment income taxes for the time being.