Japan METI Eyes Continued Eco-Car Tax Breaks

August 29, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will call for extending tax breaks for fuel-efficient vehicles as part of its tax system reform requests for fiscal 2019, informed sources said Wednesday.

To prevent the planned consumption tax hike, from 8 pct to 10 pct, in October 2019 from chilling automobile sales in the country, METI will ask for continued application of reduced rates of vehicle weight and other auto-related taxes for eco-friendly models, informed sources said.

After the extension of the temporary tax breaks beyond their expiration dates to come by May next year, the ministry will seek rate cuts for the automobile tax, a local levy, and elimination of the controversial provisional add-on vehicle weight tax rates, the sources also said.

But optimism cannot be warranted for those METI requests to be adopted for the tax system overhaul for the year starting next April, because the Finance Ministry is believed to oppose any tax reduction proposal, the sources said. Jiji Press