Released on = April 13, 2007, 4:05 am

Press Release Author = Mr NG Nagasaki/Jacobs & Burns

Industry = Financial

Press Release Summary = Speaking from the company corporate headquarters, in Tokyo,
Japan, Jacobs & Burns spokes person, Mr NG Nagasaki claimed "Unexpectedly strong
Japanese household consumption so far this year may be merely a windfall from a
change in the country\'s tax system that will boost workers\' disposable income until
the end of May."

Press Release Body = Jacobs & Burns spokes person, Mr NG Nagasaki, then went on to
say "If that is the case, consumption will likely lose momentum more than expected
in the latter half of this year, slowing overall economic growth." He continued by
saying "In Japan, almost every wage earner has to pay both national income tax as
well as local government taxes. But the national and local government tax years
start at different times, in January and in June respectively."

Mr Nagasaki further commented that "From January to May this year, Japanese workers
are paying less income tax than normal because of a change in tax allocation between
central and local governments. As a part of a drive for decentralization, local
governments will have 3.0 trillion yen ($25.3 billion) more a year in their coffers,
while the national government is taking that much less."

He continued by saying " The reason behind this is because local governments start
levying their tax regime in June, the national government, whose fiscal year starts
in January, has already started applying its rates which are lower. As a result,
Japanese workers are enjoying a lower tax burden during the first five months of
this year however
The overall tax burden will increase in June. So it\'s questionable if the latest
firmness in consumption is sustainable\"

Various data suggests consumption is firm so far this year, despite earlier
expectations that it would slow significantly in reaction to sharp growth in the
October-December quarter.The government\'s unofficial composite index for personal
consumption rose 1.1 percent in the first two months of this year, higher than the
average 0.9 percent increase in October-December.

Jacobs & Burns provides financial advisory services to wealthy individuals and
families, and select endowments, its independent, fee only, conflict free \"open
architecture\" consulting service, a combination of independence, tax awareness and
extensive intellectual resources. Jacobs & Burns today is one of the best-recognized
open architecture firms advising wealthy families on their investment portfolios and
other wealth management issues.

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