A proposed cut in Japan's consumption tax on food and beverages could reduce annual incomes for about 800,000 small and medium-sized farms by more than 300 billion yen, according to an estimate from Mitsubishi Research Institute.
The Mitsubishi Research Institute estimate, released on Saturday, puts the average annual income loss at about 400,000 yen per farm. Many of these farms are partly or fully exempt from remitting the current 8 percent consumption tax on their sales.
The government, which is considering the tax cut starting April 2027, is expected to provide subsidies and other support to offset the impact. Research fellow Kimio Inagaki based the figures on data including farm size and sales revenue.
Of Japan's roughly 820,000 farms, about 700,000 are fully exempt from the consumption tax and 85,000 are partly exempt.