Ten Percent Tax in Japan

This month the tax rate was raised two percent in Japan.

The biggest thing I've noticed in the last two weeks was that the local supermarket was sold out of the cheapest toilet paper.

I found this strange as it costs around 250 yen a pack. So people were stocking up for potential savings of only five yen. 

This would make a lot more sense for high priced items, like if you needed a new computer or a car, that would make a big difference.

Although I have heard it's been a lot of work for retailers to update pricing, it hasn't been something that has impacted me as of now. I should eventually look into using apps to pay for things (cashless discounts) but it's not a priority. 

I heard one business did the task of rounding up or down after the new price changes to make giving change easier. And I was asked about the tax rate in the US.

That was a hard one to answer as the rates depend on where you live and sales tax is zero in a few states. 

The sales tax might seem high to some people, but it's a nice whole number, and I hope it helps with the country's debt and aging population costs.

Relative costs are still low in Japan in comparison to the US, so I'm not worried about the tax hike.