TOKYO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Japan may introduce a 20 yen ($0.23) a litre environmental tax on fuel as soon as April 2010, partly to make up for a steep fall in other tax revenues caused by the faltering economy, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday. The Democratic Party promised in the run-up to its August election victory to abolish an unpopular "temporary" fuel tax of about 25 yen per litre in 2010, drawing criticism from environmentalists who said the policy would hamper efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged an ambitious cut of 25 percent in emissions by 2020, compared with 1990 levels. Abolishing the fuel levy would also cost the cash-strapped government about 2.5 trillion yen ($28.93 billion) in revenues, but replacing it with a proposed new environmental tax of 20 yen per litre would make up most of the shortfall, the paper said. Tax revenues are expected to fall to less than 40 trillion yen in the financial year starting in April 2010, the Yomiuri said, but the government aims to keep new bond issuance to 44 trillion yen or less. Hatoyama's government must strike a balance between reining in the ballooning national debt and keeping the economy out of recession. Efforts by a government panel to cut budget requests from an initial 95 trillion yen for the financial year starting in April have succeeded only in trimming roughly 1.7 trillion yen, far less than the 3 trillion yen many had hoped for. (Reporting by Isabel Reynolds) ((isabel.reynolds@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1883; Reuters Messaging isabel.reynolds.reuters.com@reuters.net)) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) ($1=86.42 Yen)
Smokes comes out of a factory chimney in a mixed residential and industrial area of Shanghai November 28, 2009. The United States gave a guarded welcome on Friday to China's first ...
