Aso willing to introduce taxpayer ID number system+

TOKYO, Jan. 19 Kyodo - Prime Minister Taro Aso showed willingness Monday to consider introducing a taxpayer identification number system, on the first day of deliberations of the House of Councillors Budget Committee on the government-proposed second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008, which includes a controversial 2 trillion
yen cash handout plan.

Explaining why the government is not putting an income cap on the handout, Aso
said it will take time to analyze incomes of individuals and that introducing
the taxpayer identification number system could be ''quite important as a way
to enhance social security.''
In 2005, then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said it is necessary to promote
dialogue with the opposition bloc over the possibility of setting up a system
to keep tabs on people's incomes, but talks to that end had not made progress.
Aso also reiterated his intention to raise the consumption tax from fiscal 2011
if the economy recovers, saying he will aim for a ''moderate'' level of welfare
with a ''moderate'' burden after ''rebuilding the economy by 2011, implementing
administrative reform and eliminating wasteful spending.''
On the issue, Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hidenao Nakagawa, who has
expressed opposition to the consumption tax hike, hinted Monday at the
possibility of not voting in favor of a fiscal 2009 tax reform bill which is
expected to include the tax hike proposal.
''The LDP did not pledge to raise the consumption tax in the 2005 lower house
election,'' Nakagawa said in a TV program, adding that the question of whether
to raise the tax should be decided by the public and that stipulating it in the
law before the next general election violates the rules of democracy.
Aso told reporters in the evening that it is ''good'' for people to have
various arguments on the issue, but reiterated that the government has to ask
people for a moderate burden in order to maintain moderate welfare amid the
aging society.
At the upper house Budget Committee session, the main opposition Democratic
Party of Japan urged the government to cancel the 2 trillion yen cash handout
plan and use the money for other purposes such as medical care.
The DPJ, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party jointly
introduced to the upper house a bill to amend the supplementary budget by
removing the 2 trillion yen allotted for the cash handout plan.
But Aso said, ''I have no intention of revising (the second extra budget
proposal) by removing the cash handout plan at this stage,'' emphasizing his
belief that the plan will have a positive effect both in helping people in
their daily lives and in boosting the economy.
Also Monday, the government introduced to parliament a record-high 88.55
trillion yen state budget for fiscal 2009, which begins in April, amid the
deteriorating economic situation.
For the 4.79 trillion yen extra budget, discussions will also be held Tuesday
at the Budget Committee of the opposition-controlled upper house, with Aso and
all of his Cabinet ministers in attendance.
While the ruling parties aim to seek the passage of the extra budget and
related bills at the upper house plenary session Friday after holding votes at
upper house committees, the DPJ has expressed its intention to make a decision
on a voting schedule by assessing the situation in the deliberations.
The extra budget and related bills are likely to be voted down at the upper
house, but the budget would still be endorsed as the decision of the more
powerful House of Representatives, which approved it last week, prevails under
constitutional provisions.
The related bills can also be passed if at least two-thirds of the lower house
supports them in a revote.
Parliament was stalled due to wrangling between the ruling and opposition blocs
over when they should launch the upper house deliberations after the ruling
coalition railroaded the proposed extra budget and related bills through the
lower house last week.
==Kyodo
2009-01-19 22:44:21