Tax Morale and Tax Resistance: Evidence from an Internet Survey in Japan

This book is the first to shed light on the recent opinion of taxpayers on tax and fiscal policy in Japan through an attitude questionnaire.

It is said that Japanese taxpayers’ tax morale is high. However, taxpayers in Japan are often described as having strong resistance to tax increases, especially consumption tax increases. There is, then, a paradox with respect to the attitude toward tax policies among Japanese citizens.

This book provides background information and basic descriptive statistics from Internet surveys in Japan by the authors, who introduce their results by focusing on tax morale and opinions with respect to a consumption tax hike. The summary statistics indicate that while tax morale is high, half of the respondents oppose a consumption tax hike from 8% to 10%. Furthermore, the ideal consumption tax rate for most respondents was less than 10% in both surveys, suggesting that Japanese taxpayers have a strong tax resistance, attributable to distrust of government and politicians.