Hi tooearly,
Not as absurd as it might seem at first blush...
My guess is that someone has run this idea up the flagpole to measure the response from the various interested parties, such as taxpayers, business, foreigners, etc...
The idea is not a new one, but merely a variation on the old idea of taxing assets, which is what a property tax does. At various times (even in the USA), there have been proposals to tax (luxury) possessions such as boats, fancy automobiles, jewels, precious art, and other various stuff.
Taxing one's cash holdings is just another variation of this idea, albeit the stated intention is to remove the cash from the "safe" confines of one's mattress and put it to work in the form of consumption or capital investment. Use it or lose it...
And this strategy has the added benefit of being a one-time only tax, because they're certainly not going to redo the currency every few years.
If I were in Japan, how would I react to this story? Maybe I'd buy gemstones, precious metals or something else in the general grouping of "hard assets". But I'd certainly be reducing my exposure to cash. I wonder if this story might cause a run on the banks and postal savings system???
KJC |
