Tax Break for Donation to Party Branch

Mainichi Shimbun reported that a member of House of Representatives affiliated to the Liberal Democratic Party had received tax breaks, using the “kickbacks” from Abe faction, by donating the fund to a branch of the party headed by himself. The lawmaker admitted the story was true and he returned the tax break to the government. Some other LDP lawmakers are doubted as doing the same management. LDP included some measures to regulate that kind of tax break in the draft of amendment for political reform discussed in the Diet. 

The lawmaker is former State Minister for Reconstruction, Ichiro Kanke, who was elected from Tohoku bloc of the proportional district. In the general election in 2021, Kanke was defeated by a candidate with the Constitutional Democratic Party in the Fukushima 4th district, but, instead, elected from the Tohoku proportional district, because he was on the list of LDP candidates.

 

LDP has its branches in every district in Japan, which head is incumbent or expecting lawmaker. Even after losing in Fukushima 4th district, Kanke has been the head of LDP branch for the district. The report of Mainichi revealed that Kanke had donated ¥12.01 million to the LDP branch in 2021. Mainichi found that the donation included ¥6.78 million of fund which he received from Abe faction as the “kickback” of the ticket sales of the faction’s fundraising party.

 

To promote donations of individuals for further participation to the politics, the Act on Special Measures Concerning Taxation allows the recipient 30 percent of tax break, when an individual made donation to a party or its branch. According to Mainichi, Kanke possibly received about ¥3.6 million of refund in 2021. The total amount of tax break between 2018 and 2021 was made on ¥23.78 million of income in the branch.

 

The main public frustration against LDP’s slush fund scandal has been why the politicians would not be taxed on their income of “kickbacks,” while the ordinary people suffer from income tax. If the story was true, Kanke not only evaded from taxation but was refunded.

 

Kanke explained that he had corrected his political funds report and returned the refund to the tax office. He revealed that he had been instructed not to report about the fund received from Abe faction. Mainichi reported that other lawmakers, including former Minister of Defense, Tomomi Inada, and former Digital Minister, Takuya Hirai, had received the same kind of tax break.

 

The issue of tax break added another doubt on LDP politics that has been facing accusation from the opposition parties. LDP added some measures in the draft of revised Political Funds Control Act, over which the parties in the Diet have been negotiating for reaching a consensus, to regulate donation from an individual to a party. However, a fundamental question is why a party branch headed by a lawmaker can receive donation from an individual, even though a donation from an individual to a politician is strictly prohibited.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Not A Royal Wedding

The bride called her husband an indispensable existence and their marriage was necessary choice to protect their mind. The groom insisted on his life as only once and his right to be with his loved one. Her father wanted his daughter’s marriage to be celebrated by the people. The people were not sure whether the family was happy as a whole. Is this the traditional Japanese social system that makes no one happy? Mako Komuro, as known as Princess Mako during her life in one of the royal family Akishino, held on Tuesday a press conference with her husband Kei Komuro, right after submitting marriage report to local government. It was something different from ordinary Q&A session, because Mako was afraid of her mental uneasiness brought by some questions not based on truth. So, the event was actually one-sided speech to the reporters. Mako emphasized that the Kei’s decision of studying abroad five years ago had not been his original idea, but a result of her request to establish an over...
Read more