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Molokidan wrote:It's almost that time of the year again... So let's hear it. After viewing many of the previous tax threads in the past, I know there are all types on FG... From obedient folks who pay every last cent of their ward taxes to tax evasion ninjas who haven't funded a government bureaucrat's curry lunch for years! I want to hear it all. Either your most glorious tale of tax math, or your chronicle of disgraceful tax seppuku. That time you had to jump out the bathroom window and run to the next prefecture when you got audited. Or, you could just tell us how easy it is to file them properly. Just don't turn this thread into some dumb argument about how gaijin who don't pay taxes should get out of Japan. I will judge no one. For the record, I'm planning to set all my taxes straight this year. Whether or not I succeed is a different story!
Some foreigners working in Japan could now have more than ¥100 million in financial assets given the sharp decline in the yen or if a wide range of assets were covered by the law.
“We are aware and engaged with the authorities on this,” the International Bankers Association of Japan, which represents foreign banks and securities firms in Japan, said Thursday in response to a request for comment.
“We would like an outcome that targets tax evaders, but does not inadvertently capture other groups who may contribute to the growth of Tokyo as a financial center and the vitalization of the Japanese economy.”
People with knowledge of the discussions over the exit tax say that government officials are considering limiting which foreigners would be covered, and say the finance ministry expects the law would likely only affect several hundred individuals.
wangta wrote:
How many posts have you made since registering here in 2003? If you only post occasionally and have now turned up to get gaijin tax stories from the suckers here then I call sneak and snitch.
I can refer you to one tale in the Beyond Fucked forum from resident Black Panster McTojo who has been banned from the rest of the forums. He ran into trouble over taxes because he wanted to get married to a J female (she must be an absolute oddball) and since then we haven't heard what happened. Maybe his furniture has been seized for auction by his local ward office.
chokonen888 wrote:More barriers to importing skilled workers? (though they seem to realize how fucked that could be)
wuchan wrote:the last time I got audited the FSA found that the J-gov owed me money.
Molokidan wrote:I'm a premium FG member and I've posted off an on over the years, mostly being silent and absorbing wisdom from my peers. But I can understand people being worried about posting personal information like that. Of course, you could always just say it was something that happened to your friend...
Has there actually been a case of a non-resident's possessions being seized by the tax man? I'd love to read about that.
kurogane wrote:Anyways, tax stories:
I got a tax bill on income that was formally a living expenses stipend while on a research fellowship and went to the ward office to explain that I was tax exempt by contract. They balked, I went home and printed out 30 or 40 pages of the relevant sections of the national tax code and went back into the ward office to argue my case. They hemmed, hawed, took one long horrified look at the reams of tax code I had politely highlighted, phoned the JRA liason office and with a few mildly grumpy comments about my income being far too high to be expempt they agreed I was tax exempt. I mentioned that I paid my health insurance even though I was exempt on that too and they seemed to appreciate the gesture. So I went home. Moral? Always go to battle armed. To the teeth. And be magnanimous in victory.
End of story..............................for now..........................
kurogane wrote:chokonen888 wrote:More barriers to importing skilled workers? (though they seem to realize how fucked that could be)
Here we go again................
This isn't about Us. The JRA and the parliament don't care about us. Many of them aren't even sure We exist, and those that are are pretty sure we are all tourists. In almost no way, shape or form does the statistical irrelevance of foreigners present in Japan affect the course of Japanese legislation. Your existence is so infinitesimal it is a non-existence in most scenarios. You don't matter.
“We would like an outcome that targets tax evaders, but does not inadvertently capture other groups who may contribute to the growth of Tokyo as a financial center and the vitalization of the Japanese economy.”
People with knowledge of the discussions over the exit tax say that government officials are considering limiting which foreigners would be covered, and say the finance ministry expects the law would likely only affect several hundred individuals.
Samurai_Jerk wrote:Not exactly a tax story but when I moved back to Japan ten years ago after a 5 year hiatus I was on a pre-college visa since I decided to spend an academic year in Japanese school. When I went to my local ward office to sign up for insurance the person at the counter asked me what my income was the previous year. I replied that I wasn't in Japan so she asked me again. I kept giving the same reply and she kept asking me the same question instead of actually explaining to me that she needed to know my income regardless of where I was to calculate how much I should be paying for insurance. I just acted like I didn't understand what she was getting at and she finally just said never mind and signed me up at the very low rate that full-time students typically pay.
To be honest I didn't know exactly what my income was in USD let alone JPY off the top of my head and wouldn't have had any documentation to prove it one way or the other if I did. I also wasn't sure that they should be calculating my insurance premiums based on an income I received when I wasn't a resident of Japan. It was all very strange and seemed to go on the honor system.
Does anyone actually know how that works? Are they supposed to look at income earned abroad the previous year to calculate national insurance and pension premiums if you weren't a resident of Japan during that time?
wangta wrote: As for the OP, I knew a gaijin who had his bank account cleaned out for not paying ward taxes. We were in the city and he went to get some money from his bank ATM but he received a message that he could not withdraw anything at the moment. That was odd but the day after he used an ATM to access his bank account and found that all his money had been taken except for around 650 yen.
legion wrote:yeah, I paid my city tax when they told me they would take my motorbike if I didn't, you get plenty of notice
wuchan wrote:dear cop,
I always get back over 90% of my Japanese national tax through deductions. Come after me if you like, I only claim 50% of my expenses.
legion wrote:To steal a gag from Bobby Thompson,
Tax man "You owe us xxxxx JPY"
Fucked Gaijin "Sorry, I don't recall borrowing any money from you"
I think they sent me some bills to pay in installments, it was a long time ago.
How about you tell us your tax stories, did you cry when they sent you a bill?
Wibble wrote:kurogane wrote:Anyways, tax stories:
............................................
End of story..............................for now..........................
This sort of thing seems to be entirely dependent on the tax person you deal with. I was on a similar stipend for a couple of years, and they had no problem with it being tax exempt nor the city office with paying minimal health insurance contributions based on a 0 income.
In contrast, although not tax, I know someone who had a "expenses" only PhD studentship in Japan; when he started his first post-doc job, they demanded 4 years of back pension contributions from him as he hadn't made any tax returns during that time.
chokonen888 wrote:chokonen888 wrote:More barriers to importing skilled workers? (though they seem to realize how fucked that could be)kurogane wrote: Here we go again................
It very much seems like they are considering how this will affect foreigners...and seems like many will end up being exempt?
Molokidan wrote:Honestly, I've never received a bill for anything tax-related. But I plan on visiting an accountant this year to try and get some advice so that I can get better at deducting and hopefully earn a larger % back.
BigInJapan wrote:Molokidan wrote:Honestly, I've never received a bill for anything tax-related. But I plan on visiting an accountant this year to try and get some advice so that I can get better at deducting and hopefully earn a larger % back.
I'm self-employed and I've had a tax accountant (税理士) do my taxes for over 10 years. For me, it's well worth it as it's hassle-free, and I get back a large chunk of the tax I've paid (which is almost like a bonus as I pay more tax than when I was a company drudge). Not sure about 90% like someone else quoted, but it's definitely up there.
Molokidan wrote:BigInJapan wrote:Molokidan wrote:Honestly, I've never received a bill for anything tax-related. But I plan on visiting an accountant this year to try and get some advice so that I can get better at deducting and hopefully earn a larger % back.
I'm self-employed and I've had a tax accountant (税理士) do my taxes for over 10 years. For me, it's well worth it as it's hassle-free, and I get back a large chunk of the tax I've paid (which is almost like a bonus as I pay more tax than when I was a company drudge). Not sure about 90% like someone else quoted, but it's definitely up there.
That's what I'm heard. So even including what you pay to the accountant, you still come out relatively unscathed?
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