http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=379718
Two-thirds of governors still want generous road funding
TOKYO, May 21 KYODO
Thirty-one of Japan's 47 prefectural governors still want to prioritize
funding for road construction in using revenues from road-related taxes, a
Kyodo News survey indicated Wednesday.
Such views were registered even after the government decided May 13 to
free up use of road-related tax revenues for any kind of project, not just
highway construction, from the fiscal year beginning next April.
The governors, from prefectures including Hokkaido, Yamagata, Kochi,
Miyazaki and Okinawa, appeared particularly vocal in their demands for more
road-building subsidies because their areas' highway networks are quite
underdeveloped compared with those in other prefectures.
These governors' views conflict with policies envisaged by the government
of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, which wants significant portions of the road
tax revenues to fund healthcare and education programs.
Twelve governors of such prefectures as Iwate, Chiba and Kumamoto argued
the tax income should be used for local authorities' fiscal empowerment.
Many governors who responded to the Kyodo poll also said that the way road
tax revenues are used should be acceptable to motorists since they are the
people who pay the road taxes.
In the Kyodo survey, governors were asked to give multiple responses
regarding how they want to see road tax income used.
Eleven, including the Miyagi, Yamanashi and Hyogo governors, said part of
the money should be spent to reduce traffic accidents and nine, including those
from Iwate, Shizuoka and Kochi, called for more funding for environmental
protection.
The tax income in question is currently estimated at 5.4 trillion yen for
the current fiscal year ending next March, including levies at both national
and local level.
In order to use the money in a more efficient and rational fashion, the
government has decided to end the rule that restricts use of the tax revenues
to road-related projects. Specifics about how to allocate the funds for various
projects are due to be proposed by the government and the ruling political
parties by this autumn.
==Kyodo
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