Party's over: Japan to end entertainment tax break for big companies

Deduction for meals and gifts has done little to boost spending

20191109 Ginza at night

The neon lights of Ginza: Nearly 30 years on from the peak of Japan's stock market, corporate entertainment spending growth has turned sluggish. (Photo by Yuta Asomura)

RYOHEI YASOSHIMA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japanese policymakers will seek to end a tax deduction for big corporations' entertainment spending after the five-year-old incentive was found to have little noticeable economic benefit, Nikkei has learned.

Under a proposal to be considered by the government and ruling coalition, the deduction would end at the close of the current fiscal year next March. Revenue freed up by this move would be channeled into other programs, such as tax breaks for investment.

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