- Japan officially introduced a value-added tax (VAT) in 1989, but earlier attempts failed
- Study looks at why Japan was slower than other countries to implement a VAT
- Tax authorities’ debates in the 1960s and 1970s reviewed to understand failures
- Implementing VAT required a shift from direct tax ideology to acceptance of indirect taxes
- Four influential factors identified for Japan’s delay in implementing VAT
- Failure to introduce VAT in the 1970s closed the door to a Western-style welfare state in Japan
Source: cambridge.org
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
