Japan sales tax won't rise in FY08/09-LDP official

TOKYO, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Japan will not raise its politically sensitive consumption tax from the current 5 percent in the fiscal year beginning next April, a senior ruling party official said on Wednesday.

The government and ruling coalition parties are set to compile tax reform proposals in December for next fiscal year.

"The Liberal Democratic Party has no intention of raising the tax rate," Bunmei Ibuki, the LDP's secretary-general, said in a speech.

The government had planned to start discussing an overhaul of tax reforms, including the consumption tax, to help finance growing social welfare costs.

But talks on possibly raising the consumption tax have stalled after the LDP lost control of the upper house of parliament in elections in July. (Reporting by Teruaki Ueno and Yuko Yoshikawa, Editing by Michael Watson)