WARD TAX

[fatslug]

has anyone actually paid this ?
i dont know of anyone that has......
what happens if you dont pay ?

any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[dimwit]

All people with warts are required to pay it. Oh! you mean Ward tax. Sorry.

Is it the same as the city tax? If so, then, if you have resided in Japan for more then one year you are required to pay it since it is based on your previous years income. I have known short termers who have dodged paying it, because by the time the city authorities track them down, they have left thye country. Not a great option for ex-pats. I don't know if or how they punish you if you don't pay.

[GomiGirl]

Ok can I just say that as a 5year resident in the same apartment, I have never been billed. My company has registered me as a tax paying citizen and income tax is paid as required. I am registered with my ward office as a resident of the area, have gaijin card and hanko registered with them and I get mail inviting me to have free health checks and other local govt schemes.

I am yet to recieve a bill - I am quite happy to pay if they send me a bill but I am not going to tell them that they have overlooked me. My parents who live just down the road get billed and they pay their tax.

But once they have found me, there is no way that I can avoid it but for the moment, I am sitting tight.

shhhh.. mum's the word OK!!

[Bongo]

There is a legal loophole about SHIMIN and KUMIN ZE.
If you are not officially employed on January the 1st of every year, you don't have to pay it. This loophole gets closed the year after next I believe.
That said, I know people that have been here for 20 years and have never ever paid it even though they were billed.
yet, I also know someone who had a letter from the ward office saying that they will come and seize their possessions unless they pay.
I also know a guy who owed them 2,500,000 Yen....They told him they would accept his phone line as payment when he left and sent him the papers to change ownership of the line. They also told him, they write off the tax if it has not been paid in 3 years. Can't beat that kind of service.
There is also supposed to be some other kind of loophole that foreigners can use to not pay it.
I always wonder how they can charge us Jumin Ze when gaijin do not have a JUMI-HYO as you can not technically be a JUMIN without one.