Ruling-Opposition Talks Begin on Bill to Scrap Add-On Gasoline Tax

   Tokyo, Aug. 1 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling and opposition parties began working-level discussions Friday on a bill jointly submitted by seven opposition parties earlier in the day to scrap the provisional gasoline tax surcharge.
   Since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition has already agreed to abolish the tax surcharge by the end of the year, the focus of the talks is whether the two sides can reach common ground on securing alternative revenue sources.
   The bill, submitted by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito, the Japanese Communist Party, the Conservative Party of Japan and the Social Democratic Party, calls for lowering the gasoline tax by 25.1 yen per litter from the current 53.8 pct by scrapping the surcharge on Nov. 1.
   On Wednesday, the ruling and opposition parties signed an agreement to scrap the surcharge "as early as possible within this year."
   Friday's discussions were attended by LDP tax panel chair Yoichi Miyazawa and CDP policy chief Kazuhiko Shigetoku, among others. The opposition side explained the bill, and the two sides agreed to hold talks once a week beyond the ongoing five-day extraordinary session of the Diet, which began the same day.

(2025/08/01-21:02)

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