The chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association on Monday again criticized a Tokyo draft ordinance that aims to tax the gross profits of large banks in the metropolis as "unfair and undemocratic."
Speaking as a witness in the first of four hearings at the metropolitan assembly's special budget committee, Katsuyuki Sugita lashed out at a process that enabled the capital to develop the plan without interference and suddenly announce it to residents. The legislature looks likely to pass the legislation.
The plan will levy a tax of up to 3 percent on about 30 banks that have total assets of 5 trillion yen or more, beginning April 1. The proposal has raised wide support among residents as a means to secure revenue from banks, which have not paid local taxes because they are in the red due to huge amounts of nonperforming loans.