TAX NEWS - June 2010

Japan Tax: Actionable tax evasion hit ¥29 billion in 2009

About 1 billion yen in cash hidden in someone's home to evade taxes but recently seized by the National Tax Agency, is shown in this handout photo in Tokyo

The total amount of Japan tax evasion subject to action by tax bureaus nationwide came to about ¥29 billion in 210 cases in fiscal 2009, the Japan National Tax Agency said Thursday.

The total amount was down about ¥6 billion from the previous year, while the number of cases in which tax bureaus inspected and filed criminal charges with the Public Prosecutor's 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 was buried in a yard and boxes containing bundles of bills worth more than ¥1 billion 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, the second-highest number in the past decade after the 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 deposits 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 by being disguised as overseas residents.