TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday that he did not see the need for a negative income tax or a basic income as the country already has a well-established system of medical insurance and pensions.
“At this stage, I don’t think we need a so-called negative income tax or basic income system because we already have a fairly well-established, well-developed, medical insurance and pension system,” Kuroda said.
Kuroda also said that longer-term JGB yields, such as on 20, 30 and 40 year bonds, had been moving in a positive range and this was helping pension funds and life insurers, adding that the government’s commitment to seek fiscal sustainability in the medium to long term was critical for maintaining investor confidence in Japanese government bonds.
The BOJ governor also said that a negative rate had been applied to a very few commercial banks with deposits at the central bank.
