Japan to Pay Part of Income-Linked Benefits in April 2029

Tokyo, Sept. 6 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government is considering making part of payments under a planned income-linked benefit program in April 2029, it was learned Sunday.

The financial aid program is planned to be introduced in earnest in fiscal 2029, and the portion that may be paid in April 2029 would be part of the benefits for the fiscal year starting that month.

The move is intended to mitigate the financial burden on households after the consumption tax rate for food, which is planned to be cut to 1 pct from 8 pct for two years from fiscal 2027 as a stopgap measure until the full-fledged start of the benefit program, is brought back to the original rate in April 2029, informed sources said.

The government plans to pay the rest of the fiscal 2029 benefits around September 2029, according to the sources.

If local governments agree to the two-staged payment plan involving greater burden concerning related administrative work, the central government and the ruling coalition will reflect this in a tax system reform package on the consumption tax cut that is expected to be drawn up shortly, the sources said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]