P5 News
Shonan Tax Office No. 168
September 2003
Consumption Tax
When you buy foods or cloths at store, you pay tax. The tax is called Consumption tax. Currently, the tax rate in Japan is 5%. When the consumption tax was introduced in Japan, we thought that we would have wanted to know how much the consumption tax was, so we chose price tags excluding tax. Do you sometimes confuse how much you have to pay the tax when you are shopping? After you buy 10 items or more, you won't probably remember how much the tax is. Therefore, the government changed tax law. Price tags in stores and advertisements must show the price including consumption tax so that customers can easily understand how much the total is. This change will start in January 2004. Ministry of Finance Japan said that this change would make consumers be more convenient. When they see price tags, the amount is exactly how much they have to pay at the casher. Furthermore, the government wants consumers are more interested in the taxes.
This is one example of the receipt will look like after the change starts.
In Japanese yen;
Before After Meal 3,000 3,150 10% 300 315 Subtotal 3,300 Tax 165 Total 3,465 3,465
