Osaka Prefecture city's removal from hometown tax scheme ruled valid
A court Thursday ruled that the government acted lawfully in removing a city that offered extravagant gift incentives to attract tax-deductible donations from the furusato nōzei (hometown tax) program, marking a first in the conflict between the central and local governments over the program. The ...
Reform of hometown tax donation system spurs revamp of gift programs across Japan
Governments across Japan are starting new gift programs in the wake of the central government's decision to "normalize" the hometown tax donation system. The furusato nōzei system, as it is known, was introduced in fiscal 2008 to enable citizens to donate money to prefectures and ...
'Where's the wagyu?' Return gifts full of fat draw donor complaints
Wagyu full of fat, sent as gifts by some municipalities in return for tax-deductible donations, has drawn a flurry of donor complaints. The town of Misato in Miyazaki Prefecture and the city of Ichikikushikino in Kagoshima Prefecture apologized to those who made donations under the ...
A decision by the internal affairs ministry raises questions from the viewpoint of local autonomy and the decentralization of administrative powers.
Western Japan city to sue ministry after being excluded from hometown tax donation system
The city of Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, will file a lawsuit against the internal affairs ministry in a bid to reverse a decision to remove the city from the revised furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system, Mayor Hiroyasu Chiyomatsu said Friday. "The ministry's decision to exclude ...
Ministry confirms city in Osaka Prefecture will be barred from hometown tax donation system
The internal affairs ministry said Thursday it is sticking with its decision to exclude the city of Izumisano from the revised furusato nōzei hometown tax donation system. The ministry concluded again that the Osaka Prefecture city, does not qualify after failing to follow a ministry ...
Donations to quake-hit towns in Hokkaido rose sharply in fiscal 2018
Donations to three towns in Hokkaido hit by a powerful earthquake last year expanded sharply in fiscal 2018 under the government's furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system, according to local municipalities. Under the plan, which allows taxpayers to contribute to their hometowns or other municipalities ...
Donations to Japan's hometown tax donation program topped record ¥512 billion in 2018
The annual total surged 40 percent, the steepest increase on record, as governments drew interest from around the nation with generous return gifts.
A survey has found that 58.4 percent of respondents are supportive of a new rule limiting the value of return gifts handed out under Japan's furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system to local products worth 30 percent or less of the value of donations. The ...
Ministry plans to bar four local governments from Japan's new hometown tax donation system
The internal affairs ministry plans to exclude four municipalities from the revamped furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) program, which will be introduced in June, it was learned Thursday. The excluded municipalities are Izumisano in the prefecture of Osaka, the town of Oyama in Shizuoka Prefecture, ...
Abuse is the norm for Japan's hometown tax donation system
On Sept. 11, then-Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda gave a news conference at which she stated the government's intention to revise laws for local taxes. The ministry, which regulates taxation at the prefectural and municipal levels, is trying to rein in the furusato ...
Falling for furusato: The epicurean incentives behind a tax strategy that masks economic lunacy
A decade ago, the Japanese government launched a program that allows taxpayers to make "donations" to smaller cities and towns across the country, and then have those contributions deducted from national and municipal taxes. A Tokyo resident like myself, for example, can give ¥10,000 to ...
