Kishida Says He’s Not Mulling Capital-Gains Tax Changes for Now

(Bloomberg) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he is not considering changes to the country’s capital-gains tax at present as he focuses on other aspects of his policy agenda.

“There’s a lot that needs to be done before that, so I’m not thinking about touching that for now,” Kishida said of the capital gains tax on a Fuji TV news program Sunday.

Kishida, who was elected to lead Japan’s ruling party at the beginning of October, has pledged government spending to recover from the pandemic and to build a “new capitalism” in which the benefits of economic growth are spread more widely.

His previous comments about raising wages and support for a higher capital gains tax have sparked speculation that Kishida is the reason Japanese equities tumbled last week. 

Kishida said on the program he did not want to cause any misunderstanding and unnecessary concern by focusing just on the capital gains tax. The 64-year-old former foreign minister has three weeks to galvanize support for his fledgling government before the Oct. 31 national election that could set the tone of his term in office. 

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