Increasing dissatisfaction among tax-exempt businesses with introduction of invoices, downward pressure on Kishida Cabinet approval rating

The invoice (qualified invoice) system introduced in October has sparked growing dissatisfaction among freelancers and small business owners, including manga artists and private taxi drivers, who fear their incomes will decline. This also led to the approval rating of Fumio Kishida’s cabinet dropping to an all-time low.

cabinet secretariatwebsiteAccording to , the introduction of this system will affect approximately 4.6 million people who were exempt from paying consumption tax. Tax-exempt businesses such as freelancers and small-scale businesses (with taxable sales of 10 million yen or less per year) are required to pay taxes when they receive invoice issuance registration. It is possible to remain a tax-exempt business, but that would increase the tax burden on business partners, risking losing customers and potentially forcing them to lower transaction prices.

The Kishida administration has formulated a 17 trillion yen economic package that focuses on supporting household finances, but dissatisfaction with the government’s policies regarding taxation is one reason for the decline in approval ratings. In the latest opinion poll, the cabinet’s approval rating has fallen to the low 20% range.

Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities, said that while this was not a major reason for the decline in support, “there are many people who feel a sense of unfairness” in the system.

The introduction of the invoice system may lead to an increase in tax revenue for the government, and it will also make it clear whether businesses are paying consumption tax at the standard rate (10%) or the reduced rate (8%).

There are also concerns that the introduction of an invoice system could lead to a decrease in income for freelancers and small businesses with low incomes. In September, a protest rally was held in front of the prime minister’s office calling for the system to be cancelled. The “STOP! Invoice” campaign has received over 560,000 donations so far.online signaturegathered.

At a protest rally, manga artist Leon Yutaka pointed out the impact of this system, saying, “The real problem is that if we do this, we will lose our assistants.” She said, “Basically, assistants earn a very low annual income.If they have to pay consumption tax, they may wonder what they are really working for.”

Internet survey conducted by Teikoku Databank in OctoberinvestigationAccording to the survey (approximately 1,500 companies responded validly), over 90% of companies responded that they had concerns about the introduction of the invoice system now or in the future. 70% of respondents cited “increase in work burden” as the reason, which was the highest.