Tokyo College Event: “Japan’s Consumption Tax after LDP’s Landslide: Relief, Reform, or Both?”

Abstract

Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s historic landslide victory in Japan’s lower house election, the Takaichi government starts deliberating a temporary consumption tax cut, which LDP pledged during the campaign. This seminar examines what these promises imply for Japan’s consumption tax system and fiscal structure more broadly. Will this be just a short-term relief measure or the first step toward deeper reform, or a combination of both? 

Program

Speaker
Michael KEEN (Ushioda Fellow, Tokyo College, The University of Tokyo; Former Deputy Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund)

Commentator
KUNIEDA Shigeki (Professor, Faculty of Law, Chuo University)
SATO Motohiro (Professor, Hitotsubashi University)

Moderator
Takeo HOSHI (Director, Tokyo College)

Speaker Profile

Michael Keen was previously Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he played a central role for over twenty years in shaping and delivering IMF policy and advice on tax matters. He was President of the International Institute of Public Finance from 2003 to 2006, awarded the CESifo Musgrave Prize in 2010, and in 2018 received from the National Tax Association of the United States its most prestigious award, the Daniel M. Holland Medal for distinguished lifetime contributions to the study and practice of public finance. He is co-author of books on The Modern VAT and Taxing Profits in a Global Economy. His most recent book, Rebellion, Rascals and Revenues (with Joel Slemrod), aims to use history and humor to convey basic tax principles to a wider audience.