NEWSWORTHY
Japan to curb expensive gift incentives under 'hometown tax' program
The program allows taxpayers to donate to any municipality and receive tax cuts, but has led to fierce competition among local governments to lure donations with expensive gifts.
Government eyeing rework of 'hometown tax donation' system to curb use of gifts
The government is considering reworking furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation), a system that allows taxpayers who typically live in urban areas to make donations to rural areas in exchange for tax credit, officials said Wednesday. The system was implemented in 2008 as a way to ...
Hometown donation system enters new phase, with a focus on building for the future
Local governments in Japan are grappling to find new ways to attract donations under the furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system, now that intense competition among them to offer the most appealing gifts to donors has subsided. The system allows people to donate money to ...
Donations under hometown tax payment program hit record ¥284 billion in 2016
Tax deductible donations to municipal governments under the furusato nozei (hometown tax) payment scheme in fiscal 2016 hit a record ¥284.4 billion, the government said Tuesday. Donations were up 1.7-fold in the year ended March 31 from fiscal 2015 as simplified online procedures encouraged more ...
Rural 'furusato nozei' beer, beef thank-yous costing urban Japan much-needed revenues
Want a free case of craft beer? If you send ¥30,000 or more of your taxes to the town of Yamanouchi in Nagano Prefecture, they'll send you 24 bottles of a locally brewed beer to say thanks. Want beef? Redirect ¥50,000 of your local area ...
'Hometown donation' system emerges as effective way to help quake victims
Amid a flurry of fundraising and charity projects launched in the wake of last week's deadly earthquakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, the "hometown tax donation system" is gaining attention as a way of getting money directly to affected municipalities. The hometown tax donation system ...
Government to use donation system to help young people settle in rural Japan
The internal affairs ministry plans to collect donations for people willing to move from cities to rural areas through the existing furusato nozei system, which provides tax breaks for donations to hometowns and other municipalities. The planned donation scheme is designed to support mainly young ...
Hometown 'tax' donations system catching on
Japanese may not be known as the most charity-minded people but if there is one charitable activity that has proved a hit in this country, it's the "furusato nozei" (hometown tax).
Japan's ailing rural towns push free beer, other perks to urbanites in tax-sharing drive
Faced with the danger of elimination, hundreds of rural districts in Japan are plying gifts that include craft beer and balloon rides to entice their mini-diasporas to send tax payments back home. Offerings of choice cuts of beef and appeals based on emotional attachment also ...
