Team Mirai Proposes Income-Linked Benefits to Replace Food Tax Cut

Team Mirai, led by party leader Takahiro Anno, has proposed an income-linked benefit system as an alternative to reducing consumption taxes on food ^[1].

The proposal seeks to provide direct financial relief to lower-income citizens more efficiently than a broad tax cut. By targeting specific income brackets, the party said it can deliver more substantial support to those in need using the same budget scale as a tax reduction [1, 2].

Under the plan, individuals earning up to 5.4 million yen annually would be eligible for benefits ^[1]. The maximum annual payment per person would be approximately 60,000 yen ^[1]. For a single-person household earning 3 million yen per year, the estimated benefit would be approximately 38,000 yen ^[1].

Anno said the design aims to deliver funds more thickly, quickly, and reliably to struggling populations compared to 0% or 1% food consumption tax reduction plans ^[1]. He said the system is intended to be a resilient framework as AI development reduces labor demand and expands economic inequality ^[3].

Team Mirai said the plan requires no legislative changes to implement ^[1]. According to the party, the first payments could be distributed within eight to nine months using existing administrative infrastructure ^[1].

The proposal is scheduled for discussion during a national conference involving both ruling and opposition parties [1, 2]. This comes amid reports that the government remains opposed to implementing a general consumption tax cut ^[4].

Anno said the goal is to increase the take-home pay of those who need support most within the same financial framework ^[1].