Japan’s carbon tax to take effect in October

Japan’s environment tax, which will take effect in October, could pose a financial hardship on small businesses. The new levy will be implemented in three stages, with increases to come in April 2014 and April 2016, after the initial rollout on October 1. All fossil fuels will be taxed at 289 yen (US$3.68) per ton of carbon dioxide emissions.
Once fully introduced, the green tax, which will be collected as an add-on to the existing tax on crude oil and coal, is expected to boost revenue by 262.3 billion yen (US$3.34 billion).
The tax on gasoline will increase by 0.25 yen (US$0.003) per liter. But gas stations can display prices only at 1 yen (US$0.012) increments. Since transferring the tax into prices as a rounded-up figure could be perceived by drivers as an attempt to price gouge, some operators are hesitant to go this route.
Gasoline sales reached 57.21 million kiloliters in fiscal 2011. If gas stations are unable to reflect the green tax in prices at all, the industry could see 14.3 billion yen (US$182.44 million) in gross profit evaporate in a single year.