by Karl Widerquist | Dec 12, 2012 | Research
According to the publisher Palgrave/Macmillan, “This exciting and timely collection brings together international and national scholars and advocates to provide historical overviews of efforts to pass basic income guarantee legislation in their respective countries and/or across regions of the globe. Contributing authors address specific substantive issues such as: who were the main people and groups involved in support of or against such legislative efforts; what were the main reasons for the success or failure of BIG-related initiatives to date; and what the prospects are for the future. Countries discussed include Australia, Finland, Germany, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and the US.” The publisher also quotes Greg Marston, who writes, “This book integrates careful research, political theory and practical insights in a way that no other volume on the idea of a basic income guarantee has yet done. Through engaging and thoughtful presentation of wide ranging national case studies, readers will learn a great deal about the global state of play. In an age of growing economic insecurity, the book provides a timely reminder of the possibilities income guarantee schemes offer for improving social wellbeing.”
For more information go to:
https://us.macmillan.com/basicincomeguaranteeandpolitics/RichardKCaputo
by Yannick Vanderborght | Apr 3, 2012 | Research
This special issue of the journal Academia Juris Booklet (in Japanese) is edited by Prof. Miyamoto Taro (Faculty of Law, Hokkaido University), one of Japan’s leading expert in social security reform.
It includes one paper by Yannick Vanderborght (Louvain University and Facultés Saint-Louis Brussels) entitled ‘Universal Basic Income and the Tensions of Welfare State Reform’; and one paper by Jorgen Goul Andersen (Aalborg University) entitled ‘Evolution of activation policies in Denmark’. Both papers are in Japanese.
In his introduction, Prof. Miyamoto stresses the fact that basic income and activation policies are not incompatible, and argues that both approaches could contribute to a more inclusive social security system.
Full references: MIYAMOTO, Taro (ed.) (2010), ‘Activation or basic income. Principles of welfare reform.’ Academia Juris Booklet, issue 30. Available online at: https://www.juris.hokudai.ac.jp/~academia/booklet/booklet30.html
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jan 12, 2012 | News
This conference will take place at the Maison franco-japonaise in Tokyo. Two speakers will deal with the issue of the potential of a basic income in times of economic crisis, and in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.
Yannick Vanderborght (Professor of Political Science at Louvain University and Facultes Saint-Louis, Brussels, Belgium) will give a talk (in French, with consecutive translation into Japanese) entitled ‘Le revenu d’existence: une réponse adéquate aux crises et catastrophes?’. Fumio Iida (Professor of Political Theory at Kobe University, Japan) will talk about “Basic income: a Japanese version?” (in Japanese, with consecutive translation into French).
The conference is organized by Thierry Ribault (CNRS, Institut français de recherche sur le Japon, Maison franco-japonaise Tokyo), in cooperation with Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Scientific Research A, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Project Title: A Comparative Analysis of the Needs-Participation Oriented Welfare Systems in the Era of Aging Society. Chief Investigator: Yutaka Tejima, Professor of Medical Law, GraduateSchool of Law, Kobe University).
Practical details:
Saturday 28. January 2012 – 2PM-4.30PM, room 601
Further information (in French and Japanese) at https://www.mfj.gr.jp/agenda/2012/01/28/
Free access, but previous registration is required: contact@mfj.gr.jp
Working languages: French and Japanese, with consecutive translation
Address: 3-9-25, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0013
by Yannick Vanderborght | Dec 12, 2011 | Opinion
A Refundable Tax Credit Scheme for Low-Income Earners under Consideration by the Government
Discussions on the reform of Japan’s tax system are currently gaining momentum. They are to be considered within the framework of the recovery efforts from the great disaster of March 2011, and take place under the policy of “integrated reform of social security and tax system” of the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).
Increasing income tax and accession tax on wealthy citizens are under consideration. The income tax system formerly had 19 levels and its maximum marginal rate was 70%. In order to stimulate Japan’s economic recovery, the tax rate on high-income earners has been kept lower, and the entire system now has only six levels. The maximum marginal rate on incomes over 18,000 thousand JPY (around 234 thousand USD) per year has stayed at only 40% until today (Asahi Newspaper, 2011/11/22). It seems that the redistributive character of the tax system is under threat.
Despite this, the increase of the consumption tax, which taxes daily consumption of average and even low income citizens, is now central to the agenda of political actors. After 2013 the consumption tax rate (now 5%) is going to be increased up to 10%, by two steps.
It is common sense to say that consumption tax system entails heavier burden on lower income earners. Thus increasing consumption tax rates would boost a sense of inequity about taxation among Japanese citizens. In response to it, the introduction of lower rates on essential goods, and a uniform cash payment for low income earners is considered. However, a high level authority in the government-official said that these measures for low income earners are unnecessary for a consumption tax system with 10%. Such measures for low income earners are commonly used in consumption tax systems over the last half of ten percents (Yomiuri Newspaper, 2011/11/10).
In this context, the idea of a cash benefit under the form of a refundable tax credit scheme for low income earners is discussed within an expert group of the Tax System Council of the government. Furthermore, an influential politician, who is said by many to be an expert of finance-tax systems, announced his intention to consider a refundable tax credit system in his platform during the 2008 presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party (the former ruling party). These facts were revealed in the Newsletter of Basic Income Advocates Group, Japan (2011/11/26).
DPJ’s manifest for the last general election does not include any basic income idea and it seems that there is no real discussion on it within the party. Nonetheless, the DPJ first administration introduced a “child benefit” scheme paying 13,000 JPY (around 169 USD) per month regardless of the parents’ income (the actual amount was a half of the amount that they had promised in their platform). Although its unconditionality leads to the idea of a universal basic income, the DPJ was not aware of it, and they have already accepted to reform the scheme in order to introduce an income-test, due to pressure from the opposition parties.
Another main attraction in their manifesto was the integration of public pension systems, and the idea of funding a Guaranteed Minimum Pension (70,000 JPY, around 910 USD per month) with government’s fiscal revenues. This was an income security for elderly citizens but seems to be almost forgotten by the DPJ. Under these circumstances, the prospects of the refundable tax credit system for low income earners remain unclear.
What is made clear by these developments is that regardless whether the government openly favors basic income idea or not, the very idea of a basic income (even in partial or any other form) has become realistic, and is now an inevitable agenda item in the reform of Japan’s reformation of tax and transfer system.
by Yannick Vanderborght | Oct 3, 2011 | Opinion
Almost a half year has passed after the Great Earth Quake and Tsunami on March 11 in East Japan which jointly victimized nearly 16,000 people’s lives, made around 4,600 people missing, destroyed a large number of houses and facilities, and induced the nuclear power-plant accidents in Fukushima. The 3 prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima) in the Pacific coast district of Tohoku [North East] Japan were severely double-devastated by the earth quake and tsunami. In addition, people living in areas surrounding the nuclear-power plant were forced to evacuate from the caution zones. For families which lost their members and houses, a lot of funds were raised by the private sector domestically and internationally, and the funds have been concentrated to the Red Cross Japan and others and distributed to the prefectures in the disaster districts. However, the distribution of consolation money to the sufferers is slumbering because many municipal governments have lost their offices and staff members. Prefecture governments in the disaster districts have built about 100,000 provisional housings (free of rent), accommodating many evacuees. Although many households intend to rebuild their own houses, they cannot get refinance of mortgages unless they refund their previous mortgage on the block. Still today, more than 6000 people are living in shelters.
What is the most serious problem is that most sufferers lost their income sources.
Employed workers lost their jobs because their work places were destroyed or swept away, and even survived firms are in difficulty to purchase parts and materials and to restore customers, and many of the firms suspended their businesses and eventually got into bankrupt. Thus a lot of workers lost their employment.
According to Asahi Shimbun [newspaper] (2011.9.6), 63,352 people in the 3 prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima) were registered as disaster-affected job seekers at public employment security offices from March to July. Among them only 13,017 people (20.5 %) got jobs by the end of July. It is estimated that 30 % of job seekers got jobs through public employment secure offices nationwide in the same period. The lowliness of re-employment rate of job seekers in the devastated zones is notable. Asahi said “It is sure that more than a half of the disaster-affected job seekers have not been reemployed yet.” Among the job seekers 60,221 people were provided unemployment allowance from April to July (the first period of payment). For most of them the covering period of the insurance is 2 months. They can get an extension period of 2 months under the existing scheme, and 2 months under the extra rule for the disaster-affected job seekers. In any case, there will be a sharply increasing number of job seekers outside of the unemployment insurance starting in coming October.
The Pacific coast of Tohoku Japan has an industrial concentration of fishery and fish processing. However, many of the fishing boats were destroyed or swept away, fishing harbors and fish markets lost their function, and many of the processing factories were destroyed. Fishermen and fishery-related employees lost their job. Farmland in this area (mainly rice fields) was flooded by seawater and the soil got a high level of saline. It may need a couple of years to resume rice cultivation. Shipping regulations on and consumer avoidance of the agriculture, meat and fishery products from these areas in the concern about the radioactivity contamination due to the diffusion of radio-active matters caused by the nuclear power plant accidents are giving further sufferings to the farmers and fishermen.
In response to this situation, the government is trying to expand financing and subsidizing for reconstruction of these industries respectively. However, these programs are operated within the framework of existing schemes; therefore, they entail minute conditions and cumbersome procedures. They are not easily available for the people in hurry. Under the circumstances, it will take a long time to recover production and employment. Therefore, it is desirable to ensure income for the sufferers, i.e. paying basic income by the government on a temporary basis.
The activists and researchers concerned, centering on BIJP (Basic Income Japan Pursuers), have been campaigning for establishment of a Basic Income scheme for the sufferers. They organized 2 meetings in the Parliament House (to impress politicians) after April. They insist as follows:
1) The government should pay 150,000 JPY (2,700 USD) per month to all of the sufferers unconditionally and individually for 5 years.
The un-conditionality and individuality can enable the beneficiaries to flexibly plan living and get through situations responding to each condition of work, production and living.
Along with the basic income, the government and local municipal governments should enhance in-kind services such as care for elderly citizens, disabled citizens and children, job training, employment placement and so on.
2) If the scheme is targeted within people in the 3 Tohoku prefectures (Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima), the estimated number of beneficiaries are 5,670,000. The necessary budget is around 10 trillion JPY (180 billion USD) per year.
The government estimates the funds necessary for rehabilitation as a whole at between 20 to 30 trillion JPY. In addition, 10 trillion JPY may necessary for compensation for damages by the nuclear plant accidents. It is impossible to cover such a huge budget by usual measures such as tax increasing, budge cut down and issue of usual government bonds. A simple and effective measure is that the government issues extra government bonds and the Bank of Japan (the central bank of Japan) buys all of the bonds. The fund from the bank of Japan will be all used by the government. This means in effect that the government itself issues currency on security of its financial credibility. It may be a sort of government-issue note. This financial measure will not increase governmental debt at all.
