TOKYO: Japan’s Finance Ministry has confirmed that the country’s total tax revenue in the 2014 fiscal year (FY) increased to its highest level for 21 years, driven by a rise in both consumption and income tax collections.
Tax collected in FY2014, which ended on March 31, 2015, reached almost JPY54 trillion (USD440bn). This was a rise of 14.9 percent, or some JPY7 trillion, over its value in FY2013, and represented Japan’s fifth consecutive year of tax revenue increases. It was also a JPY2.2 trillion rise over government estimates made in January this year.
The greatest portion of the tax revenue rise was found from a 48 percent boost in consumption tax receipts to JPY16 trillion following the increase in the tax rate to eight percent from five percent in April 2014, and also as a result of higher tourist spending.
However, both corporate and individual income tax revenues also showed significant rises. The former, boosted by additional business profitability, increased by 5.1 percent to JPY11 trillion, while individual income tax revenue showed an 8.1 percent increase at JPY16.7 trillion.
