Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday his ministry will seek to balance tax reductions with increases by 2010, reiterating his support for quick tax breaks to spur the economy.
"If there are both tax cuts and tax hikes conducted over a set period of time, then using taxes to revitalize the economy is worth considering," Shiokawa told a news conference.
Shiokawa's comment is in line with the ministry's three-point proposal presented last week to the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, which underlined the need to supplement tax revenues following quick tax cuts over a set period of time.
2 Shiokawa said the balance should be achieved by 2010, when the government hopes to achieve a "primary balance" -- a gauge of a government's fiscal soundness where expenditures are balanced by tax revenue.
Shiokawa also said that future tax hikes should be "clearly written" in tax laws when they are revised.