Tag - taxes

 
 

TAXES

A revamped 3D diorama of the Chiran airfield and its surroundings is displayed at the Chiran Peace Museum in Minamikyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, on July 31.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2025
Hometown donations program used to help preserve wartime memories in Japan
Initiatives are under way in some regions to keep the tragic history of World War II from fading by using digital technology to renovate exhibition facilities.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, will screen government agencies and ministries' requests for tax reform at their respective tax panels, aiming to draw up guidelines later this year.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 30, 2025
Government agencies draw up fiscal year 2026 tax reform requests
The ruling coalition will screen the requests, aiming to draw up late this year tax reform guidelines for the fiscal year starting next April.
The industry ministry aims to reduce tax burdens on Japanese companies making investments in facilities and equipment by expanding tax deductions and allowing lump-sum depreciation.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2025
Industry ministry to spur capital expenditure through tax measures
The ministry aims to reduce tax burdens on Japanese companies making investments in facilities and equipment by expanding tax deductions and allowing lump-sum depreciation.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks next to U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Terry Cole, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), during the signing of executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Monday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2025
U.S. weighing sanctions on EU officials implementing Digital Services Act
The law aims to make the online environment safer, in part by compelling tech giants to tackle illegal content such as hate speech and child sexual abuse material.
The Burj Khalifa skyscraper (center left) and the Dubai skyline on Aug. 7
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2025
Less tax, more luxury: millionaires flock to Dubai
The tightly-policed UAE has molded itself into a magnet for the wealthy, offering economic and political stability with an easygoing business environment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Independence Day ceremony in New Delhi on Friday
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 18, 2025
Modi bolsters India’s economy with tax cuts ahead of U.S. tariffs
Officials in New Delhi said the proposed changes to the goods and services tax would benefit a broad range of sectors, including consumers and small businesses.
Currently, operators of theaters and music halls can get a one-third reduction in the fixed property and city planning taxes if they carry out barrier-free renovations that meet government standards.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Japan eyes tax relief for barrier-free movie theaters
The initiative aims to help people enjoy cultural and artistic activities regardless of their disability.
In the most recent regular session of parliament, problems were highlighted regarding some foreign workers leaving Japan without paying outstanding taxes.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2025
Japan starts survey on foreign nationals' unpaid resident taxes
Some foreign workers end up leaving the country without paying outstanding taxes.
The National Tax Agency at the Ministry of Finance, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Japanese tax authorities can bill foreign residents in Japan for assets inherited globally.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 7, 2025
Japan's inheritance tax is high, unforgiving and sometimes avoidable
Under certain circumstances, overseas inheritance can pass tax-free to foreigners who are residents in the country.
A fireworks display in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, on Aug. 4 last year. The show has been one of the return gifts for hometown tax donations to the city.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025
Furusato nо̄zei hometown tax donations hit record ¥1.3 trillion in 2024
Of Japan's 47 prefectures, only Fukuoka, Saga and Kagoshima received lower donations than in fiscal 2023.
Parliamentary affairs chiefs of the ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday at the parliament building after signing an agreement to abolish the provisional add-on gasoline tax
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2025
Ruling and opposition parties agree to scrap provisional gas tax by year-end
The parties aim to enact a bill to scrap the tax at an extraordinary session of parliament expected to be convened in autumn.
The city of Kumamoto. The number of local governments that are able to operate their finances without state tax allocations has increased for the fourth consecutive year, the internal affairs ministry announced on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 29, 2025
Local governments not allocated state tax revenue increase for fourth year
In fiscal 2025, such local governments totaled 85, up by two from the previous year, reflecting the growth of local tax revenues backed by robust corporate performance.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku (second from left), policy chief of the Constitutional Democratic Party, speaks at a meeting of opposition party policy leaders discussing a bill to scrap the provisional add-on gasoline tax rate, on Tuesday at parliament.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2025
Eight opposition parties agree to push for extra gasoline tax to be scrapped
The opposition parties are hoping to raise public expectations for political change after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the recent Upper House election.
Opposition party policy chiefs discuss a gas bill in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2025
Move to abolish gasoline tax is LDP-Komeito coalition’s first post-election test
The minority government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is under pressure to quickly decide on how to respond to the opposition push.
International Monetary Fund spokesperson Julie Kozack said any fiscal stimulus measures Japan takes to address economic shocks should be temporary and targeted at vulnerable households and companies, during a news conference on Thursday in Washington.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025
IMF advises Japan to avoid broad tax cuts and handouts
Tackling inflation was a major campaign issue in the Upper House race, with opposition parties having called for reducing or abolishing the consumption tax.
Miyazaki Gov. Shunji Kono speaks at a meeting of the National Governors' Association in the city of Aomori on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 24, 2025
Governors urge central government to address Japan's shrinking population
During a two-day meeting in Aomori Prefecture, governors called for the establishment of a government agency-level control tower to coordinate related policies.
The EU flag and Meta logo in an illustration from 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 22, 2025
Meta, X and LinkedIn appeal unprecedented VAT claim by Italy
Italian tax authorities argue that free user registrations with X, LinkedIn and Meta platforms should be seen as taxable transactions.
Upper House votes being counted on Sunday. The Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the upper chamber of parliament, but could still be effective in thwarting the opposition.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2025
Consumption tax cut not a given even after Upper House election
Political and economic realities suggest that opposition policies will not skate through.
Britain’s abolition of the "nondom" tax regime has triggered an exodus of wealthy residents to tax-friendlier countries like Italy, sparking warnings of lost revenue, diminished appeal and a missed chance to reform the system more effectively.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2025
The ultrarich move in herds. Just ask London.
The beneficiaries are countries such as Italy, which is attracting wealthy foreign residents with an annual flat fee of €200,000.
The U.S. Capitol in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tax bill largely benefits business investors and wealthy Americans.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Jul 4, 2025
Who won and lost in Trump’s tax bill
Those hit the hardest by the sweeping package include elite universities and immigrants.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past