TAX NEWS - June 2010

Japan Tax: Tax evasion in Japan totals 29 bil. yen in FY 2009

TOKYO, Jun. 17, 2010 (Kyodo News International) -- The total amount of tax evasion subject to action by taxation bureaus across Japan came to about 29 billion yen in 210 cases in fiscal 2009 that ended in March, the National Tax Agency said Thursday.

The total amount was down about 6 billion yen from the previous year, while the number of cases in which taxation bureaus inspected and filed criminal charges with the Public Prosecutors Office or imposed back taxes was up two from the previous year.

The cases included ones in which a plastic container with gold worth 178 million yen was buried in a yard and boxes containing bundles of bills worth more than 1 billion yen were hidden at a home.

By industry sector, real estate dealers topped the list of tax evaders as their business performance was boosted due to surges in land prices in major cities, followed by mineral and metal wholesalers due to soaring prices of scrap iron and other resources.

By tax category, corporate taxes ranked top with 84 cases, followed by income taxes with 36 cases. Six cases involved inheritance tax, ranking second in the past decade to eight cases detected in fiscal 2003.

Most of the funds raised through tax evasion were kept in cash, deposits and securities, but some funds were saved in overseas cash and real estate in recent cases.

Some cases booked fictitious expenses for firms set up in tax havens and used schemes to evade taxes in Japan through disguise as overseas residents.