LDP Proposes 1.6-M.-Yen Tax-Free Income Portion

   Tokyo, Feb. 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday proposed increasing the tax-free portion of annual income to 1.6 million yen, but only for people with annual incomes of 2 million yen or less.
   The LDP presented its new proposal at a meeting of tax panel chiefs from the LDP, its Komeito ally and the opposition Democratic Party for the People.
   "We have newly adopted the idea of giving special treatment to people facing living difficulties," Yoichi Miyazawa of the LDP told reporters after the meeting. But Motohisa Furukawa of the DPFP criticized the new proposal as "not taking into account the people's daily lives."
   The three parties held such a meeting for the first time in about two months. They will hold another meeting on Wednesday.
   In December, the three parties' secretaries-general agreed to raise the taxable income threshold from the current 1.03 million yen, starting in 2025 and aiming for 1.78 million yen, the level sought by the DPFP. However, their talks were halted after the DPFP rejected the LDP's earlier proposal to raise the threshold to 1.23 million yen.

(2025/02/18-21:27)

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