Goldman Says Japan’s Mobile Price Push Could Offset Tax Hike

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga could wipe out the burden on household budgets of a sales tax increase last year if he succeeds in lowering cell phone fees by 40%, according to economists at Goldman Sachs.

“Likelihood is increasing that mobile phone charges will be reduced substantially in line with the Suga administration’s strong commitment,” Tomohiro Ota and Yuriko Tanaka, economists at Goldman, wrote in a report Thursday.

The analysts estimated that a broad 40% reduction in mobile phone charges would have a similar impact on prices as a 2 percentage point consumption tax cut---matching the amount then Prime Minister ...