Takeout foods and food delivery services will qualify for the 8 percent reduced consumption tax rate, according to a plan compiled by the government and ruling parties on how to distinguish between “eating out” and “food in general,” it has been learned.
The plan was compiled after the ruling parties basically agreed to make food in general, with the exception of eating out and alcoholic beverages, subject to the reduced tax rate.
According to the plan, food taken home from fast-food restaurants, including hamburgers and gyudon; food delivered by soba restaurants; takeout boxed sushi sold by sushi restaurants; food consumed at dine-in spaces in convenience stores; and delivered pizza will all be exempted from the category “eating out” and subject to the lower tax rate, the sources said.
This is because the places where customers eat these foods — homes, workplaces and schools — are, unlike restaurants, not equipped with eating facilities, the plan stipulated.
The plan defines “eating out” as “the provision of meals at places equipped with tables, chairs and other eating facilities.” The government and ruling parties will draw the distinction based on the Food Sanitation Law, under which business operating licenses are issued for restaurants, and other regulations. The distinction will be newly inserted into the Consumption Tax Law.
As for cases in which customers eat bento or packaged foods that can be brought home at dine-in spaces in convenience stores, the 8 percent tax rate will be applied to these foods because the stores are selling foods, not providing meals, according to the sources.
But even in the same dine-in areas, the new 10 percent consumption tax rate will be applied if meals are served on plates that must be returned, as this is regarded as providing meals. Eating and drinking at food courts in commercial facilities will also be categorized as “eating out.”
For bakeries and cake shops equipped with an eat-in space, foods will be placed in the “eating out” or “takeout” categories based on whether the items are served on plates or handed over to customers in bags. If food items are furnished to customers in such a way that they can be brought home, the 8-percent tax rate will be applied.
The distinction also applies to fast-food restaurants: Eating meals at hamburger shops, gyudon restaurants and other stores will be subject to the 10-percent tax rate, while the 8-percent tax rate will be applied to takeout foods from these stores.
8% for snack foods with toys
Snack foods that come with a toy and are priced at ¥10,000 or less will be taxed at 8 percent if the products consist mainly of food, according to a plan compiled by the government and ruling parties on how to draw a line between items subject to a lower tax rate and those that are not.
Under the plan, potato chips that come with game cards and caramel candies that include a toy, for example, would be subject to the 8 percent consumption tax rate as they are considered food as a whole.
The decision was made because it is practically difficult to apply two different tax rates to those products although they include items that alone should be subject to the 10 percent consumption tax rate.
The 10 percent tax rate would be applied, for example, to chocolates in a name-brand glass if the price exceeds ¥10,000.
New Year dishes sold in high-grade Wajima lacquerware or Arita ware would be subject to the 10 percent tax rate as a whole if the price is more than ¥10,000. However, the 8 percent tax rate would be applied to New Year dishes sold in disposable boxes regardless of price.(The Yomiuri Shimbun)
Link: http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002627389
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