Local Tax Act

A municipality may, in order to defray the expenses of city planning projects carried out under the City Planning Act or land readjustment projects carried out under the Land Readjustment Act, impose city planning tax on the owners of land and houses located within an urbanization promotion area prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1) of the City Planning Act (where city planning concerning the area division prescribed in that paragraph has not been established for the city planning area, an area, being the whole or a part of the city planning area, specified by Municipal Ordinance) of the area of the municipality that has been designated as a city planning area pursuant to Article 5 of the City Planning Act (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the "city planning area"), with the price of that land or house as the tax base. The same applies to land and houses located within an area specified by Municipal Ordinance of the urbanization control areas, where there are special circumstances under which, in the city planning area, not imposing city planning tax on the owners of land and houses located within an urbanization control area prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1) of the City Planning Act is found to significantly upset the balance with imposing city planning tax on the owners of land and houses located within the urbanization promotion area.

The "price" in the preceding paragraph means the price that is to be the tax base for fixed assets tax relating to that land or house (for land or a house subject to the application of Article 349-3, paragraphs (9) through (11), paragraphs (21) through (23), paragraph (25), paragraphs (27) through (30), paragraph (32) or paragraph (33), the amount obtained by multiplying that price by the rate specified in the relevant paragraph), and the "owner" in the preceding paragraph means a person who is treated as, or deemed to be, the owner under Article 343 (excluding paragraphs (3), (9) and (10)) with regard to the fixed assets tax relating to that land or house.

A municipality may not impose city planning tax on the State, tax-exempt incorporated administrative agencies, national university corporations, etc., the Japan Pension Service, the Fukushima Institute for Research, Education and Innovation and the Japan Institute for Health Security, or on a prefecture, municipality, special ward, union of these, property ward, special merger district or local incorporated administrative agency.

In addition to what is provided in the preceding paragraph, a municipality may not impose city planning tax on land or a house on which fixed assets tax may not be imposed under Article 348, paragraphs (2) through (5), paragraph (7) or paragraph (9), or Article 351.

The tax base of the city planning tax imposed on land subject to the application of Article 349-3-2, paragraph (1) or Article 349-3-3, paragraph (1) (including where applied mutatis mutandis under Article 349-3-3, paragraph (2), and where applied with terms replaced pursuant to Article 349-3-3, paragraph (3) (including as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 349-3-3, paragraph (4)); the same applies in the following paragraph) is, notwithstanding Article 702, paragraph (1), two-thirds of the price that is to be the tax base of the city planning tax relating to that land.

The tax base of the city planning tax imposed on land subject to the application of Article 349-3-2, paragraph (2), or of Article 349-3-2, paragraph (2) as applied with terms replaced pursuant to Article 349-3-3, paragraph (1), is, notwithstanding Article 702, paragraph (1) and the preceding paragraph, one-third of the price that is to be the tax base of the city planning tax relating to that land.

The tax rate of city planning tax may not exceed 0.3 percent.

With respect to the city planning tax imposed on a house acquired or rebuilt, where the owner of a house (including, where the house is property in co-ownership, a person holding a share in it) lost or damaged by an earthquake, storm, flood, fire or other disaster (hereinafter in this Article referred to as "earthquake or other disaster"), or any other person specified by Cabinet Order, has, within an area specified by Cabinet Order, during the period from the date of occurrence of that earthquake or other disaster until the day on which four years have elapsed counting from March 31 of the year following the year in which that date falls, acquired a house that the mayor of the municipality finds to replace the lost or damaged house, or rebuilt the damaged house, a municipality is to, as provided by Cabinet Order, reduce, only for the city planning tax for four fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year for which January 1 of the year following the year in which falls the day on which that house was acquired or rebuilt (where that house has been rebuilt twice or more on or after the date of occurrence of that earthquake or other disaster, the day on which it was first rebuilt; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) (or that day, if the day on which that house was acquired or rebuilt is January 1) is the assessment date, an amount equivalent to one-half of the amount calculated as provided by Cabinet Order as the tax amount for the portion of the city planning tax amount relating to that house to which this Article applies (where that house is a building held in unit ownership or is property in co-ownership, the total of the amounts calculated as provided by Cabinet Order for each unit owner (meaning a unit owner prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership) or each co-owner as the tax amount for the portion to which this Article applies), from the city planning tax amount relating to that house.

The tax agent for fixed assets tax appointed under Article 355, paragraph (1) must handle all matters relating to tax payment as the tax agent for city planning tax relating to the person liable for tax in question.

The assessment date of city planning tax is January 1 of the year containing the first day of the fiscal year in question.

The payment periods of city planning tax are to be specified by the Municipal Ordinance of the municipality within April, July, December and February; provided, however, that where there are special circumstances, payment periods different from these may be specified.

With respect to city planning tax for which the city planning tax amount (where fixed assets tax is collected together under the first sentence of paragraph (1) of the following Article, the total of the city planning tax amount and the fixed assets tax amount) is not more than the amount specified by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, the municipality may collect the whole amount in any one of the payment periods specified under the preceding paragraph.

The assessment and collection of city planning tax is to be carried out in accordance with the rules for the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax and, except where there are special circumstances, is to be carried out together with the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax. In this case, for the calculation of interest on refund under Article 17-4, a monetary incentive for payment before the payment period under Article 365, paragraph (2), or a delinquency charge under Article 368 or Article 369, the provisions of the relevant Articles are to be applied on the basis of the total of the city planning tax amount and the fixed assets tax amount.

A petition for correction, a request for review and the filing of an action concerning the assessment and collection of city planning tax are to be governed by the rules for a petition for correction, a request for review and the filing of an action concerning the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax.

A person liable for city planning tax is to pay the local government levies relating to city planning tax in accordance with the rules for the payment of local government levies relating to fixed assets tax and, except where there are special circumstances, must pay them together with the local government levies relating to fixed assets tax.

Where city planning tax is assessed and collected together with fixed assets tax under the first sentence of paragraph (1), when local government levies relating to city planning tax and fixed assets tax have been paid, payment is deemed to have been made of the local government levies relating to city planning tax or fixed assets tax in the amounts equivalent to the amounts obtained by apportioning the amount paid, less the demand fee and the expenses for the delinquent tax collection procedure, between the city planning tax amount and the fixed assets tax amount.

Where city planning tax is assessed and collected together with fixed assets tax under the first sentence of paragraph (1), the tax notices, notices of change of due date for payment, demand letters and other documents used in the assessment and collection of that city planning tax are to be prepared together with those documents used in the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax.

Where city planning tax is assessed and collected together with fixed assets tax under the first sentence of paragraph (1), when the mayor of the municipality has extended the due date for payment of that fixed assets tax, the due date for payment of the city planning tax relating to the taxpayer in question is also deemed to have been extended by the same period.

Where city planning tax is assessed and collected together with fixed assets tax under the first sentence of paragraph (1), when the mayor of the municipality has reduced or exempted fixed assets tax or the amount of delinquency charge relating to that fixed assets tax under Article 367, Article 368, paragraph (3) or Article 369, paragraph (2), the city planning tax relating to the taxpayer in question or the amount of delinquency charge relating to that city planning tax is also deemed to have been reduced or exempted at the same rate as the ratio of the amount reduced or exempted to that fixed assets tax or the amount of delinquency charge relating to that fixed assets tax.

The provisions of Article 358 and Articles 374 to 376 apply mutatis mutandis to city planning tax assessed and collected under paragraph (1) in accordance with the rules for the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax.