badmigraine 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Can they nail you in one ward if you didn't pay in another? I have (ahem) a friend who left Japan in the middle of last year before paying all of his ward tax. Bills for it--over 700,000 yen--continued to be forwarded from Japan until a final letter arrived noting total failure to pay, and mentioning that the ward might pursue all available options to collect the money, including levying on property such as bank accounts. The friend did not fear. He was Living Large back home in his own country. He knew that he would not be extradited for non-payment of ward tax. He also had no Japan property on which the ward could levy. In short, he GOT AWAY WITH IT. Several Japanese friends informed him anecdotally that the wards can't even force Japanese people to pay these taxes, so non-payment is not such a big deal...unlike non-payment of national taxes, which is tougher to get away with. Now this friend is thinking of making his big return to Japan. This time, he'll be living in a different ward of Tokyo. He wonders, do the wards coordinate on this stuff? On that fateful day when he goes to get his gaijin card from the new ward office, will they say, "uh...it shows here you have unpaid tax debt in X-ku, and until it is cleared we cannot issue you a gaijin card in this ward..." Anybody know anything about this stuff? Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 When is your "friend" thinking of returning? Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 i'm slowly paying back ward tax owed from 3 years ago in a different ward. the new ward i live in hasn't bothered me in the slightest for it (gaijin card no problems). although someone at some stage let slip to the original ward in question that i was back in the country (?national tax guys). they pursued me on a monthly basis (house visits) till we worked out a payback scheme. but the amount owing was substantially less than 'your friend' (￥30,000), so who knows what he will face. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hey enders, my friend is thinking sometime this spring. Zooks, that's bad, really bad! I know the national tax and local tax guys sit together at the same table in the ward and prefectural offices. They have their act together from a workflow standpoint, but can't collect or enforce each other's taxes. Hence the kind personal visitors you received from the old ward office. Well, I guess my friend will be found out the same way. Maybe he better look for an autolock mansion to avoid those annoying personal callers. I'm sure he'll get embarrassing phone calls at work too. Oh well. Maybe it's worth the 800,000 yen. I'll have to ask him next time we speak... Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 oh, and a further note...this ward tax was payable after i left japan (i didn't skip out on it as such). i returned to japan after 12 months...if i was able to provide proof i was working (and not just travelling or living large ) outside of japan for that 12 months, they would have scrapped the bill. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Wow, that's interesting. If you're resident in the ward as of Jan 1 2002, then you owe ward tax. The amount is a percentage of your 2001 income. You pay the tax in 2002. In my "friend's" case, he was residing in the ward on Jan 1 2002 so he'd ordinarily be liable for the ward tax. He quit his job and left Japan in mid-late 2002, just as the tax bills were starting to come thick and fast. He can prove he was living and working abroad for over 12 months, late 2002 until spring 2004. Does that sound like an out? Or would the game be to prove "not residing in Japan on Jan. 1 2002, when the tax debt accrues"? Link to post Share on other sites
mikazooki 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 perhaps u could try both, and use the 'officially deceased' line as a backup. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Your friend might consider other options; A bit expensive this one , but a striking option. Your pal can run fast and intimidate as necessary. This option is a lot cheaper, and possibly more effective. Less of a statement though. It really depends how flamboyant your cheating friend is. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 How much does the ebay corporation make if someone uses their site to sell a 100 million dollar jet? Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 That was on CNN this morning. Cool. I wonder if you can fly it anywhere Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Which is the ward tax (in Japanese?) Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted February 21, 2004 Share Posted February 21, 2004 Re-listed: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3079057375&category=4672 The phenom is sweeping: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3079238836&category=4672 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3079213467&category=4672 Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 When I moved wards from Shinjuku-ku to Itabashi-ku I had Shinjuku-ku chasing me for 2 years... I have since paid off all my wards taxes (I need to show that for my visa). I paid off the old Shinjuku bill at 5,000 yen a month. If they chase him, tell your friend to call them up, say he'll pay it and can only afford a small amount per month (such as 5000 yen) - they should happily do it, though it is a rather large amount outstanding, so they might want a higher monthly amount - however what can they do if you tell them that's all you can afford, but you're willing to pay it? Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 23, 2004 Author Share Posted February 23, 2004 Thanks for the tip, Sunrise. So you weren't allowed to get (or renew?) a work visa until you'd handled the tax issue? At what point in the visa application process did they bring up the tax issue? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 She cheaped out and got the burqa without the bit of string in the middle... Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I was about to say that, but Ocean beat me to it. The burkha is a very potent disguise/weapon. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 okay, okay, to answer the question in another way besides using headgear - no-one chased me. I just didn't want to risk having any problems. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I hope you pay your NHK fees too so they can pay that nice interpreter lady on the bilingual news who sounds like she's having a nervous breakdown, and the other lady who scatters 'that' in all the wrong places. Link to post Share on other sites
sunrise 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I don't watch TV in this country. I do watch videos though. They came around once and I told them I don't watch TV. I suppose you now want to blame me for the badly accented lady on NHK (who I used to cringe through when I shared a house a few years ago). (by they way, how's your new life going down in Shikoku?) Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Life here is poka poka - " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> That's a glum face from not snowboarding, and sweat dripping off my brow. But there are good things down here. Great fresh fruit, veg, and fish. Made some good friends. Lots of places to go. Good library with English books nearby. So next winter if I get my winter travel act together, things should be pretty good. Thanks for asking! Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 Hang in there, Ocean. If my wife has her way (i.e., inevitable), I'll end up living permanenly in Okayama within the next few years. You and I can meet for thin coffee or weak lagers at that weird restaurant under the Seto Ohashi. Yum! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 We can go mountainboarding and then have fun poking each other's dislocated shoulders! Link to post Share on other sites
mogski 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 You could always forget about living in Tokyo and come live in Kanagawa where you a whole prefecture away and closer to the beach and the mogski mobile. I find it difficult to believe that even if the wards have intercommunication that the same applies for interward. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Author Share Posted February 26, 2004 Having seen the chaos that reigns in our favorite employer, not to mention my current US employer and the US Immigration Service as well, it is indeed difficult to believe that anyone is going to notice tax debt from some ward 2 years ago. But then, just watch. Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Author Share Posted February 26, 2004 As for Kanagawa, that sounds nice and we're watching a テレビドラマ right now set near Kamakura. It would be a nice place to live. But I am a sellout. I can easily forgo it for a 10-minute commute and the proximity to the wife's shinkansen service...these are the high points we've set up in this artificial game. We're going to Japan, to buy a house in the US. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense. The phone's off the hook No one knows where we are It's a long time since I drank champagne The ocean is blue As blue as your eyes I'm gonna take it with me when I go " title="" src="graemlins/cry.gif" /> Link to post Share on other sites
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