The CASHLESS Rebate program ends June 30. After that date we have 8% consumption tax for takeout, 10% for eat in, and 10% for everything else. In the long ago world of October 2019 the CASHLESS Rebate program looked like the perfect run up to an economic boost courtesy of the Tokyo Olympics with lots of inbound cashless using visitors.
Now the program is ending. Inbound business has collapsed. And a Japanese economy in retreat needs relief, especially the 5% family business rebate sector. There has been talk of extending some tax relief for family owned ryokans, hotels and the like, but no action has been taken.
It’s impossible now to analyze how much cashless transaction growth the program drove because COVID pushed cashless use into hyperdrive. Nobody wants to handle anybody else’s anything, especially cash.
The real value of the program was that it helped smaller businesses get onboard with cashless payments. The little Colorado Cafe near the office added cashless with the start of the program in October. At the end of the program 50% of the transactions are cashless. That’s not bad considering that most of the clientele is retirement age. In another era we might call this success. In this age, it’s survival.
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