12, 12. 2006
The Japanese government will introduce to the ordinary Diet of fiscal 2008 a bill that virtually shelves the pending issue of allocating the volatile oil (gasoline) tax revenue wholly to general revenue, according to a Cabinet decision on Dec. 8.
The bill calls for working out of a medium-range program for the expansion of “truly needed roads” within the course of 2007. Any surplus revenue from the gasoline tax left after spending for the program will then be allocated as general revenue.
The allocation of the revenue source specified for road construction to general revenue is a pillar of the structural reform pledged by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The cabinet decision thus came under the fire of strong criticisms of newspapers for “mutilating” the promise.
