Staff writer The Feb. 18 revision of the Immigration Control Law has prompted many undocumented foreigners to return home, but some Myanmar citizens are unable even to go through deportation procedures because they find it hard to pay overdue taxes to their government. The Myanmar citizens said they cannot obtain or renew passports needed for deportation from Japan because they cannot pay taxes imposed by the Myanmar Embassy in Tokyo. The taxes can be hefty for those who contact the mission for the first time after illegally working in Japan for years. The embassy levies a tax of 10,000 yen per month on all Myanmar citizens who are living in Japan illegally, regardless of how much they earn. Those living here legally pay more, said an official at the mission. Nearly 10,000 Myanmar citizens are estimated to be living in Japan, most of them without proper visas, according to the People's Forum on Burma, a Tokyo-based nongovernmental organization. Because many undocumented Myanmar citizens do not pay the regular levies, they face a huge amount of taxes when they visit the embassy to obtain documents such as a passport to return home. Most foreigners working in Japan pay income taxes to the central government and usually do not have to pay any additional levy to their home governments, due to bilateral agreements between Japan and their mother countries aimed at preventing double taxation. Japan and Myanmar do not have such an agreement. "This is a rare case," a Foreign Ministry official said. A Myanmar man who visited the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau last week to submit to deportation procedures said he had paid the embassy 120,000 yen in taxes and 90,000 yen for a new passport. He said he came to Japan by ship without a proper passport two years ago. The man, who declined to be named, said the embassy halved his levy after he explained that he could not get a job for the first year. He showed The Japan Times a paper with signatures that serves as a provisional passport, and a receipt for 90,000 yen from the embassy. He also took out a bank remittance record for 120,000 yen, saying the embassy does not issue receipts or bills for the tax. Although he may have been lucky, some of his compatriots have been told to pay over 1 million yen after staying here for about a decade. The Myanmar Embassy official said taxpayers can pay the rest when they return home if they cannot pay the full amount. He said the minimum they must pay here varies "according to taxpayers' abilities." However, some Myanmar citizens claim the embassy will not issue passports unless they pay at least some part of the whole amount, which many cannot afford. One Myanmar man said he faces more than 1 million yen in unpaid taxes. The man, who requested anonymity, has overstayed his visa by nearly 10 years. The man said in fluent Japanese that he has a Japanese wife and son. However, he said, Japanese authorities have not officially recognized his marriage because he could not obtain a marriage certificate from the embassy due to the unpaid taxes. He had a copy of a filled-in marriage registration form in Japanese and a memo from his local administrative office that said in Japanese, "Please submit a marriage certificate from the Myanmar Embassy." A Japanese doctor who runs a clinic in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward said he knew of at least three Myanmar men who died here in 1999 due to illnesses -- two from AIDS and the other from cancer. They were unable to return home and spend their last days with their families because they could not pay the taxes and obtain passports, he said. Many undocumented foreign laborers, besides not being covered by Japanese health insurance, develop illnesses from overwork under harsh conditions, the doctor said. He declined to be named, saying he does not want an unfavorable relationship with the embassy because he must negotiate with officials there on behalf of his patients. "When I have patients who will not live much longer, I try to help them return home before they die," he said. The tax imposed by the embassy is a heavy burden for many Myanmar citizens because they normally earn only about 70 percent of the wages paid to Japanese engaged in similar work, the doctor said. In addition, many of those who illegally entered Japan owe 1 million yen to 2 million yen to brokers who smuggled them here. "I would not say (to the embassy) stop the taxation. I am asking for exceptional pardons for those who are suffering illness," the doctor said. The embassy official said those hospitalized or held by police to be deported are exempted from taxes. He noted that the embassy takes the situation of each individual into account, adding that such considerations are made at its discretion. The doctor said he knows the embassy has given discounts to some people but noted that those who died in Japan could not pay even the reduced amount. While many Myanmar citizens declined to talk, apparently in fear of trouble with their embassy and compatriots, Khine San Kyaw, who is seeking refugee status here, said many of his compatriots in Japan do not want to pay the tax because the money is supporting the military junta back home. "The embassy does nothing to help us and only takes money from us," San Kyaw said. "How can the embassy take money from people who are not supposed to stay in Japan?" he asked, reckoning the embassy is effectively condoning illegal stays by collecting taxes from them. The embassy official said, "The problem sits on the side of those who do not fulfill their duties." Japanese immigration officials said they cannot do anything about the matter, noting it is an internal affair of the Myanmar government. The Foreign Ministry is also aware of the problem. "(The tax) seems to be a heavy burden for the people," a ministry official said. He said the ministry has recently contacted the embassy to ask for flexibility in the payment of the tax. But negotiations for a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation is still not on the agenda, he said. Shogo Watanabe, a Tokyo-based lawyer who has provided legal assistance to many Myanmar citizens, said he fears the embassy will not welcome such a taxation agreement because the money collected here is a significant source of funds for the junta.
