TOKYO, Reuters – Japan’s ruling party and government will debate next year the revision of its capital gains tax in an effort to reduce income inequality, Jiji news agency reported.

Jiji stated that the issue would be highlighted as one of the key topics for discussion in the outline for the next fiscal year’s tax Reform. The outline will be prepared by both the government and ruling party by year end, but Jiji did not identify its source.

Fumio Kishida is the Prime Minister of Japan, and has previously mentioned that Japan could raise its taxes on dividends and capital gains.

After being criticized for putting at risk a decline in the stock market, he made good on his promise to walk the line and said that the government wouldn’t change taxes for investment income.

To encourage investment, the income tax from investments is uniformly set to 20%. It applies to capital gains and dividends as well as interest on savings and Japanese government bond.

High-income earners are more likely to be taxed through investment. This is an area that was discussed last year in the ruling party tax panel discussions. The issue of fair taxation and possible impacts on stock market markets were both issues being considered by lawmakers.

($1 = 114.9100 yen)