Less than two months after the plan was first announced, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly voted almost unanimously Thursday to levy a controversial size-based corporate tax on major banks operating within the metropolis.
The measure calls for a five-year tax of up to 3 percent on banks with 5 trillion yen or more in net assets, meaning that about 30 banks will be affected. The levy will go into effect at the beginning of fiscal 2000, which begins Saturday, and bring approximately 110 billion yen a year to city coffers from the summer of 2001, city officials said.
The plan was put to a vote on the closing day of the assembly's regular session and approved 122 to one by the 124-seat assembly, with the speaker abstaining. The final version ended up the same as the original plan unveiled by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara at the beginning of February.