NEWSWORTHY
Government considers scaling back tax exemption for education, child care gift program from April
From April the government is considering scaling down the tax exemption for money gifted to cover child care and education costs, people familiar with the matter said Saturday. The number of people applying for the exemption has steadily declined since the program was introduced in ...
Tokyo pushes back on 'bizarre' death tax that deters expats
Considering a work stint in Japan? You'd better make it short, and you'd better stay alive. That's because the government subjects long-term foreign residents to inheritance tax of up to 55 percent on their worldwide assets — meaning heirs could be forced to give up ...
Big GOP tax bill would cut rates but also gut popular breaks, including medical expenses
With fanfare and a White House kickoff, House Republicans unfurled a broad tax-overhaul plan Thursday that would touch virtually all Americans and the economy's every corner, mingling sharply lower rates for corporations and reduced personal taxes for many with fewer deductions for home-buyers and ...
Re-registering property: The lie of the land
According to an article that appeared in the Asahi Shimbun last June, authorities are unsure of the title holders to 4.1 million hectares of land in Japan — in total, an area equivalent in size to the island of Kyushu. Though this problem has ...
On inheritance tax, net banking and retiring in Japan
This week, Lifelines plays catch-up with some useful tips that have come in from readers over the past few months. However, we start off with a follow-up question from reader S.S. in response to last month's column on recent changes in Japan's inheritance tax ...
Inheritance tax avoidance, cheap mortgages driving a rental housing bubble
Apartment construction is booming as the wealthy rush to invest in rental housing as a way to reduce inheritance tax and banks hand out easy mortgages, but concerns are mounting that excessive supply paired with a shrinking population could soon lead to the bursting ...
Death and inheritance taxes: Japan's financial advisory firms enter the delicate but bountiful fray
Elderly Japanese, among the world's richest retirees, are flocking to inheritance advisers, tackling historical taboos on discussing death and providing a rare avenue of growth for the country's brokerages and banks. Trillions of dollars parked in savings accounts are set to be released in the ...
