Tax Policy for Aging Societies: Lessons from Japan

With a population that is aging faster than any other in the world, Japan faces serious public finance problems, particularly when it comes to tax and social security issues. The structural reforms that are urgently needed to accommodate the impending demographic change are the central theme of this book, which is the first work of its type to look at the Japanese tax and social security systems through a life-cycle general equilibrium simulation model. The author aims to establish guidelines for fiscal reform in Japan's graying society and uses such advanced modeling techniques to permit the calculation of the effects of alternative tax policies on capital accumulation and economic welfare. The author also examines the impact of progressive expenditure taxation, coming to the novel conclusion that this form of taxation may hold the key to overcoming the large welfare loss Japan faces as its society ages under the current tax system.