The Tokyo District Court turned down on Thursday a lawsuit by a man from Hokkaido who sought the cancellation of around ¥190 million ($1.6 million) in tax, dismissing his claim that the money he spent for the purchase of unsuccessful horse-race slips should be treated as tax deductable costs.
The ruling came in contrast to the Supreme Court's landmark decision in March to uphold two lower court rulings that regarded costs a man from Osaka spent for the purchase of unsuccessful horse-race slips as deductible from income tax.
The top court ruled that for the Osaka man, who regularly bought massive betting tickets by using projection software, it was an economic activity and that the money spent for horse racing should be treated as tax deductable costs.