Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

• Thomas Dalsgaard

The Japanese tax system applies relatively low marginal tax rates on most economic activities which, in combination with moderate tax elasticities of the bases, indicate that the overall distortion from the tax system (the excess burden) is probably modest compared with other OECD countries. Recent sizeable reductions in statutory marginal tax rates in both the personal and the corporate tax system have strengthened this feature. However, significant loopholes and non-neutralities are in place in key parts of the tax system, leading to potentially substantial efficiency losses once the tax-to-GDP ratio starts rising to accommodate the restoration of public finances as well as the expenditure needs related to the ageing population. There is thus an immediate need to start broadening the tax base in major parts of the system, including reducing the vast allowances and credits in the personal income tax system; incorporating bonuses in the base for social security ...

Le système fiscal japonais applique des taux marginaux d’imposition relativement faibles à la plupart des activités économiques, ce qui signifie que, compte tenu de l’élasticité modérée de la matière imposable, les distorsions engendrées par la fiscalité (pression fiscale excessive) sont sans doute globalement modestes par comparaison avec les autres pays de l’OCDE. La réduction importante récemment opérée dans les taux marginaux d’imposition légaux au titre de l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques et de l’impôt sur les sociétés a renforcé cet aspect. Cependant, de sérieuses lacunes et distorsions subsistent dans certains domaines importants du système fiscal, ce qui pourrait entraîner des pertes d’efficacité non négligeables lorsque la pression fiscale recommencera à augmenter en proportion du PIB pour permettre le redressement des finances publiques et pour faire face aux besoins liés au vieillissement de la population. Il apparaît donc nécessaire de commencer sans retard ...

Download Info

To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

Publisher Info

Paper provided by OECD Economics Department in its series OECD Economics Department Working Papers with number 231.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 04 Feb 2000
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:231-en

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 2 rue Andre Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16
Email:
Web page: http://www.oecd.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research

Keywords: taxation Japan imposition Japon

Find related papers by JEL classification:
H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

1. Bernardi, Luigi & Gandullia, Luca & Fumagalli, Laura, 2005. "Tax Systems and Tax Reforms in South and East Asia: Overview of Tax Systems and main policy issues," MPRA Paper 1869, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
2. Thomas Dalsgaard, 2008. "Japan's Corporate Income Tax - Overview and Challenges," IMF Working Papers 08/70, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by editing a NEP report.

This page was last updated on 2008-11-17.