TAX NEWS - JUNE 2010

Japan Tax: Minezaki Says Japan Not Interested in Something New on Bank Tax

Japan's government isn't interested in introducing a new bank levy as it already has an existing tax on lenders that is used for a pool to rescue those in danger of failure, according a Finance Ministry official.

Each nation should take a positive approach to the bank-tax idea, Vice Finance Minister Naoki Minezaki said in Busan, South Korea, where he is attending a meeting of the Group of 20. The U.S. and Europe are pressing the G-20 to adopt a fresh bank levy to insulate taxpayers from the costs of bailing out failed financial institutions.

Minezaki added that Japanese officials plan to explain to the G-20 about the country's political change with a new prime minister coming to office this week. The government will make efforts to achieve strong growth and strong fiscal conditions, he said.

G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors didn't discuss the euro's decline at a meeting late yesterday, Rintaro Tamaki, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, said separately.