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On May 14, the Manifesto Planning Committee held its 11th meeting, with discussions focused on 1) restoring public finances to health, 2) the child allowance, and 3) the individual household income support system for farmers.
According to DPJ Vice Secretary General Goshi Hosono’s report following the meeting, discussions had taken place on these three issues, and the Manifesto Planning Committee had come to a consensus regarding them. However, he stressed that this consensus was one reached by the Manifesto Planning Committee and that the actual content of the consensus itself would not (necessarily) be included in the Manifesto, but that it would serve as a basis for discussions when the actual drafting of the Manifesto got underway.
At the start of the meeting Minister of State for National Policy Yoshito Sengoku made a speech representing the government, saying: the Manifesto Planning Committee “has at last reached the climax of your task. It is an important job, and I would like you to bring it to fruition.”
For the party, Senior Vice Secretary General Yoshimitsu Takashima (Chair of the Manifesto Planning Committee) stated, “We share the opinion that it is necessary to fundametally reform the tax system.” He added that before this takes place a number of measures needed to be implemented, and stated, “Diet members should start with those tasks close at hand, which means that we need to indicate precise figures regarding the issue of cutting the number of Diet members and the like. Then after that we should present our growth strategy to the Japanese people. We must share the view that as a last resort it will be necessary to carry out fundamental reform of the tax system. We need to undertake further discussions including such issues.”
According to Hosono’s explanation, with regard to the issue of restoring public finances to health, discussions were held based on a report made by member of the House of Councillors Tatsuo Hirano, which contained an objective view of the true state of affairs, including the discussions that had taken place in the people’s livelihoods study group. He reported that the Manifesto Planning Committee came to a consensus on the following two points: 1) to implement fundamental reform of the tax system following the next general election, and 2) when drafting the budgets from fiscal 2011 up until the next general election, to ensure that new government bonds issues for fiscal 2011 do not exceed the figure of 44.3 trillion yen for fiscal 2010, and to reach a conclusion after considering both ways in which to reduce government spending, and the policies pledged in the Manifesto. Fundamental tax system reform would include a variety of measures, including those relating to consumption tax, inheritance tax, and corporation tax.
Furthermore, with regard to the child allowance, the Manifesto Planning Committee decided to 1) to consider whether to pay an additional 13,000 yen monthly in accordance with the availability of financial resources, with a potential reduction in the amount paid, 2) to consider whether payment in kind could be implemented in place of the additional payment. According to Hosono, topics for further consideration included options for payment in kind, such as improving childcare facilities, the status of tax allowances, and the division of the burden of payment of the allowance between central and local government.
With regard to the individual household income support system for farmers, the Manifesto Planning Committee decided to aim for full implementation of this policy from fiscal 2011, in view of the severe conditions currently facing public finances. Discussions were ongoing regarding the actual design of the system and the issue of financial resource.
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