
Japan to raise taxes for defense budget expansion
The Japanese government is finalizing plans to increase corporate and income tax rates to fund its plan to nearly double defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), Kyodo News cited sources as saying on December 11. The government is targeting April 2026 for a 4% hike in corporate tax rates, while the income tax rate is expected to rise by 1% starting January 2027, according to the report. Additionally, tobacco taxes will likely be raised incrementally from April 2026. Japan plans to outlay a total of 43 trillion yen (about 284 billion US dollars) on national defense over the five years through fiscal 2027 and the government aims to collect an additional 1 trillion yen annually through the tax increases, according to the report. The government and ruling parties are drafting comprehensive tax reform plans for fiscal 2025, beginning next April. The finalized schedule for the tax increases…...