SDP to oppose bills on bond issuance, tax reform+

TOKYO, Feb. 20 Kyodo -
The Social Democratic Party plans to oppose a bill that would enable the
issuance of deficit-covering bonds and another bill that would review taxation,
a senior lawmaker of the small opposition party said Sunday.
The opposition by the SDP, whose support the ruling Democratic Party of Japan
appears to be seeking to ensure the passage of these bills together with other
budget-related bills, would put that process at risk as the largest opposition
Liberal Democratic Party has already said it plans to oppose the bills.
The fate of the bills is uncertain because the DPJ-led coalition does not
control the House of Councillors. The opposition of the SDP would put in
jeopardy a plan by the DPJ-led coalition to secure a two-thirds majority in the
House of Representatives to override a rejection by the upper chamber.
Tomoko Abe, who chairs the SDP's policy board, said during a televised
political debate on NHK, officially known as Japan Broadcasting Corp., that her
party will officially decide on its response to these bills in the on-going
parliamentary session at Tuesday's meeting of its lawmakers in the both houses.
She said the party will convey its decision to the DPJ at the meeting of the
secretary generals of the two parties.
Abe said the bond issuance bill ''has a bunch of problems'' and her party
cannot agree to it.
''We cannot approve the bill if the bonds to be issued are to fill the hole
caused by cutting the corporate tax rate and to extend Japan's contribution to
the cost of stationing U.S. troops in Japan for five years,'' she said.
The bill to review taxation includes a cut in an effective corporate tax rate
by 5 percentage points.
Abe said about the tax reform bill, ''We do not think cutting the corporate tax
rate can be a measure to counter deflation. We think the bill will not pass.''
Abe also made critical remarks about another bill that would extend the
child-rearing allowances in the new fiscal year from April.
If the bond issuance bill is voted down, the government will be unable to issue
deficit bonds to make up for a 38.2 trillion yen shortfall in the 92.4 trillion
yen budget for fiscal 2011.
Under Japan's Constitution, the budget can take effect even if the upper house
rejects it. But budget-related bills require either the upper chamber's
approval or a two-thirds majority in a lower house revote.
==Kyodo
2011-02-20 17:41:53


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