Inheritance Taxes and Tax Reforms in an Aging Japan

Abstract

This chapter incorporates an inheritance tax into the simulation model employed in Chaps. 3 and 4. The inheritance tax adopted here is assumed to arise from the unintended bequests consistent with uncertainty regarding the length of individual life. The problem of choosing a tax base is discussed once again in this chapter. In addition to the three taxes mentioned in Chap. 3, it includes an inheritance tax, and thus examines the effect of the four tax regimes on capital formation. It also seeks an optimum combination of tax schemes, when a progressive expenditure tax is adopted as the nucleus tax.

This chapter was presented at the International Conference on International Research Project on Aging (Japan, China, Korea) at Hosei University in March 2004 (Okamoto 2004). The author is grateful for insightful comments and suggestions by Professors Toshiaki Tachibanaki (Kyoto University), Naosumi Atoda (Keio University), and Yoshibumi Aso (Keio University). The author acknowledges the financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (Special Assistance for Promoting the Advancement of the Education and Research of the Private Universities) to Hosei University for the International Research Project on Aging (Japan, China, Korea).