Prime Minister Abe has been persuaded by
two economic advisors, Professor Koichi Hamada and former non-mainstream MOF
bureaucrat Etsuro Honda, to adopt a gradual five-year phase-in instead of the
two-installment plan that is currently in place. It could be jiggered, but the
idea is to more away from the three-party deal. That, or Honda is a complete
flake, which I do not believe he is. MOF will not like it, but it will
go along. Likewise, BOJ.
I can’t take any meaningful bets since I
live in Japan (and I’m not so confident that I’m willing to bet the house), but
I’m sure that the authorities won’t chase me down if I make a friendly wager to
all and sundry for an up to-2,000 yen lunch. Let’s put it this way: If the
consumption tax goes up 3% on April 1, you win; if it doesn’t, I do. Wait, I’ll
give you the full FY2013 for the Abe administration to do so. Any takers please
contact my Gmail account, which is easily found around my blog.
What confirmed your belief that PM Abe will not go through with the planned consumption tax hike? Was it the announcement of meetings with stakeholders from Aug 26-31, including Prof. Honda?
ReplyDelete