Historical Background of the Japanese Tax System

Abstract

1 . I . Generalization of Tax Structure Change If we take a long and broad view back into time, our attention is drawn to the salient features of the tax structure during the process of economic development. In other words, how do tax structures appear to change during the transition from a traditional society to a modern one? Is there any theory to tie together common threads among tax systems in varying stages of development? Answering these questions would be important to achieve an understanding of the basic framework of the present tax system and to elucidate long-term changes in the size and composition of tax revenues. In fact, many studies to date have attempted to investigate tax structure change from a similar point of view. Based on broad empirical findings with special attention to the size and structure of tax revenues over time, in past studies generalizations have made to incorporate these findings into a consistent framework [see, for instance, Hinrichs (1966)]. The purpose of generalization is to determine whether there is some economic law which, as Engel's law confirmed for consumption spending, reveals a relationship between tax revenues and the development process.1 The basic nature of this study is to examine whether or not such generalizations can be applied to the Japanese experience. What is of more significance to this study .is how the tax structure changes at different stages of economic development. Consequently, an ideal approach would be to examine the same countries at different levels of development, using time-series data rather than using cross-sectional data.2 However, this approach * I am grateful to David Gross for his editorial assistance in English,