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INTEREST: Bandai Rolls Out Capsule Figure Cans To Counter Tax Increase


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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 4:49 am Reply with quote
A hike of 3% in national sales taxes that goes into effect on April 1st?

I have to assume that the Japanese government is sorely lacking in fundamental humor comprehension. That is nothing but bad optics to most of the rest of the world. Shocked

Mark Gosdin
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 5:28 am Reply with quote
mgosdin wrote:
A hike of 3% in national sales taxes that goes into effect on April 1st?

I have to assume that the Japanese government is sorely lacking in fundamental humor comprehension. That is nothing but bad optics to most of the rest of the world. Shocked


Heheh, and it's just a stepping stone too. Later it's gonna go up to the intended goal of 10%.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
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Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:41 am Reply with quote
mgosdin wrote:
A hike of 3% in national sales taxes that goes into effect on April 1st?

I have to assume that the Japanese government is sorely lacking in fundamental humor comprehension. That is nothing but bad optics to most of the rest of the world. Shocked

Mark Gosdin


It's part of Abenomics, which I'm a big critic of. This policy involve raising tax to 8% in 2014, and raising it further to 10% in 2015 according to Wall Street Journal. I mean everything is expensive (and overpriced) enough in Japan is going to be more expensive, I mean why make it more expensive and hard to buy by raising the tax even further. There was a survey from Kyodo News and according to that article, 70% are considering curbing their spending when sales tax increases in April from the current five per cent to eight per cent.

So raising the tax to what is already expensive in Japan, is not going to help the Japanese economy, it could make it worse. I don't think even the Japanese middle class could afford anything with these tax hike.
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Actar



Joined: 21 Nov 2010
Posts: 1074
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:58 am Reply with quote
Woah, this is news. I haven't been up to date with either politics or economics, but will this affect us who import stuff from Japan?
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:03 am Reply with quote
Well, if it crashes the yen, that means cheaper figs for the rest of us.
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
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Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:38 am Reply with quote
walw6pK4Alo wrote:
Well, if it crashes the yen, that means cheaper figs for the rest of us.


If it hits bottom hard enough it means NO figs, NO anime, NO manga and NO a host of other things like Boeing Dreamliners, for the rest of us.

The Japanese will be too busy trying to keep the lights on to bother with goodies.

What happens in Japan is important to the US and the rest of the world. That's the price of our highly integrated world economy.

Mark Gosdin
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:54 am Reply with quote
I don't know a lot about economics, but I've read that Japan has experienced deflation for years, and consumers are taking heed of the ever-increasing worth of their money by holding off on all kinds of purchases. Increasing sales tax is supposed to kickstart consumer spending. Don't ask me if this will work or how well or where it leads.
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Mikeski



Joined: 24 Sep 2009
Posts: 608
Location: Minneapolis, MN
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:20 pm Reply with quote
Fronzel wrote:
I don't know a lot about economics, but I've read that Japan has experienced deflation for years, and consumers are taking heed of the ever-increasing worth of their money by holding off on all kinds of purchases. Increasing sales tax is supposed to kickstart consumer spending. Don't ask me if this will work or how well or where it leads.

So... the yen is deflating, but they'll raise taxes faster than that to make saving a bad idea?

"The beatings will continue until morale improves", as applied to a national economy. Wow.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 2:04 pm Reply with quote
Mikeski wrote:
Fronzel wrote:
I don't know a lot about economics, but I've read that Japan has experienced deflation for years, and consumers are taking heed of the ever-increasing worth of their money by holding off on all kinds of purchases. Increasing sales tax is supposed to kickstart consumer spending. Don't ask me if this will work or how well or where it leads.

So... the yen is deflating, but they'll raise taxes faster than that to make saving a bad idea?


Abenomics is about inflating the economy and devaluing the yen. PM Abe and the Bank of Japan have already been devaluing the yen the last couple years by printing money and encouraging/mandating businesses to raise salaries to match the inflation (of course a lot of businesses are reluctant to pay people more even though they'll raise the prices anyway).

And so, Japanese shoppers go on spending spree before the tax hike. Of course, the question is what comes after? A spending crash?
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 2:22 pm Reply with quote
enurtsol wrote:

Abenomics is about inflating the economy and devaluing the yen. PM Abe and the Bank of Japan have already been devaluing the yen the last couple years by printing money and encouraging/mandating businesses to raise salaries to match the inflation (of course a lot of businesses are reluctant to pay people more even though they'll raise the prices anyway).

And so, Japanese shoppers go on spending spree before the tax hike. Of course, the question is what comes after? A spending crash?


Beside that video, I think I recall a BBC article published one month ago that back up whatever you said. Another BBC article came out yesterday regarding prices rise for ninth month ahead of tax increase in Japan.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:14 pm Reply with quote
Incidentally, Japan also passed a law basically restricting stores from just holding "sales" to try and lure customers back, citing this tax increase as one of the reasons.
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
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Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 6:25 pm Reply with quote
ANN_Bamboo wrote:
Incidentally, Japan also passed a law basically restricting stores from just holding "sales" to try and lure customers back, citing this tax increase as one of the reasons.


Wow, that's weird. Shocked Confused
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Echo_City



Joined: 03 Apr 2011
Posts: 1236
PostPosted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:19 pm Reply with quote
Wow. 8% national sales tax, taxing to spur sales, countering tax hikes by charging more...that just boggles the mind.

Japan is a world economic powerhouse and one of our strongest allies in East Asia and they're embroiled in a potential powder keg of a dispute with China, a country that is a huge "Frenemy" to the US. It's depressing that, with so much on the line, they're pulling these hare-brained shenanigans. Of course, I suppose that all of our allies are saying the same things about us so at least the feeling is mutual. Rolling Eyes
mgosdin wrote:

The Japanese will be too busy trying to keep the lights on to bother with goodies.
With their icy relationship with nuclear power aren't they already starting to combat this issue?
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vallum



Joined: 05 Apr 2012
Posts: 58
PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 12:22 am Reply with quote
Taxes are going up, but also is the basic wage in most places in Japan. I'm not a specialist, so can someone tell me what's the point of all this?
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ANN_Bamboo
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Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 2:31 pm Reply with quote
vallum wrote:
Taxes are going up, but also is the basic wage in most places in Japan. I'm not a specialist, so can someone tell me what's the point of all this?


The last time the sales tax increased in Japan, their economy tanked. So a lot of people are worried that this will happen again, especially as it looks as though consumers are already getting ready to pull back on spending.

Even though the basic wage increased in Japan (only very recently!!!), other things are rising as well, including cost of living. If your wage increase is just going to cover your increase in housing, necessities, etc... you're probably not going to be spending much else on higher-priced goods.

Likewise, companies have been increasing their prices for consumer goods in an effort to keep themselves from getting hit hard April 1 and the months to come. So all around, it's not a good mix.
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