It’s tax season again here in Japan and we’ve been getting news that local tax collection agencies are being bullied by citizens complaining that if they have to declare every single hard-earned yen, why aren’t these so-called kickbacks declared and handled as taxable income? These poor civil servants – they were put through the wringer during the Covid crisis and now this. They deserve a pat on their backs and some of that kickback moolah. Polls have shown the whole income reporting issue is a major gripe among the public, which, if you think about it, is kind of amusing. It seems a lot of people aren’t so much angry at the kickback system itself, than the fact that politicians are hiding money. As the old adage goes, the cover-up is worse than the scandal.
And Kishida has another headache – whether or not to keep allowing corporate donations. This should resonate with readers in the U.S. since it’s a bit like the Citizens United story. Actually, the only groups substantially benefiting from corporate money right now are the well-established Nikai and Aso factions, but that’s enough to pressure Kishida to let these donations go on. It’s ironic that the former Abe faction couldn’t gather corporate donors, so they had to rely on those now infamous fund-raising parties to make money. Former representative and Abe “child” Toyota Mayuko was on TV the other day telling a sob story about how after a tough season of campaigning, she was left with an equivalent of only a few hundred bucks in her bank account. I was about to shed a tear when I suddenly remembered she had to quit because she screamed at her driver that he was a baldy and deserved to die. Oh well.
It’s tax season again here in Japan and we’ve been getting news that local tax collection agencies are being bullied by citizens complaining that if they have to declare every single hard-earned yen, why aren’t these so-called kickbacks declared and handled as taxable income? These poor civil servants – they were put through the wringer during the Covid crisis and now this. They deserve a pat on their backs and some of that kickback moolah. Polls have shown the whole income reporting issue is a major gripe among the public, which, if you think about it, is kind of amusing. It seems a lot of people aren’t so much angry at the kickback system itself, than the fact that politicians are hiding money. As the old adage goes, the cover-up is worse than the scandal.
And Kishida has another headache – whether or not to keep allowing corporate donations. This should resonate with readers in the U.S. since it’s a bit like the Citizens United story. Actually, the only groups substantially benefiting from corporate money right now are the well-established Nikai and Aso factions, but that’s enough to pressure Kishida to let these donations go on. It’s ironic that the former Abe faction couldn’t gather corporate donors, so they had to rely on those now infamous fund-raising parties to make money. Former representative and Abe “child” Toyota Mayuko was on TV the other day telling a sob story about how after a tough season of campaigning, she was left with an equivalent of only a few hundred bucks in her bank account. I was about to shed a tear when I suddenly remembered she had to quit because she screamed at her driver that he was a baldy and deserved to die. Oh well.
Keep up the good work, Harris-san.
Can’t wait for more to come! Always informative!