Local Tax Act

Fixed assets tax must be collected by the method of ordinary collection.

The tax base amount to be stated in the tax notice delivered to a taxpayer when fixed assets tax is to be collected is the value of land, houses and depreciable assets and the total of those values.

When a municipality is to collect fixed assets tax imposed on land or houses, it must, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, deliver to the taxpayer a document stating the matters specified in each of the following items according to the category of fixed assets tax set out in the relevant item (hereinafter referred to as "tax details statement").

Fixed assets tax imposed on land: the location, lot number, land category and area registered for the land in the land tax ledgers, etc., and the price relating to fixed assets tax for the relevant fiscal year

Fixed assets tax imposed on houses: the location, house number, type, structure and floor area registered for the house in the house tax ledger, etc., and the price relating to fixed assets tax for the relevant fiscal year

In addition to the matters specified in the items of the preceding paragraph, for land or houses to which Article 349-3 or Article 349-3-2 applies, a municipality must state in the tax details statement the amount obtained by multiplying the price of the land under paragraph (3), item (i), or the price of the house under item (ii) of that paragraph, by the rate prescribed in Article 349-3 or Article 349-3-2, respectively.

With respect to fixed assets tax imposed on the fixed assets listed in the items of Article 389, paragraph (1) (excluding mobile depreciable assets or movable depreciable assets specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), if the notice under Article 389, paragraph (1) concerning the fixed assets has not been given by the deadline for delivery of the tax notice under paragraph (2) because the person who is to make a report concerning the fixed assets under Article 394 did not report by the time limit prescribed in that Article, or for other unavoidable reasons, a municipality may collect the fixed assets tax for the fixed assets in each payment period, limited to fixed assets tax to be collected in the payment periods arriving up to the day on which the notice is given, within the range of the amount obtained by dividing, by the number of payment periods of the relevant fiscal year, the amount provisionally calculated with the price that was the tax base of fixed assets tax for the previous fiscal year for the fixed assets (for fixed assets to which Article 349-3, Article 349-3-2 or Article 349-3-4 applies, the amount obtained by multiplying the price of the fixed assets by the respective rates prescribed in those provisions, and for depreciable assets to which Article 349-4 or Article 349-5 applies, the amount that the municipality should have made the tax base of fixed assets tax for the previous fiscal year under those provisions; the same applies in paragraph (8), item (i)) as the tax base (hereinafter in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article referred to as "provisionally calculated tax"). However, the total of the amount that may be collected may not exceed an amount equivalent to one-half of the provisionally calculated tax.

If, after assessing fixed assets tax under the preceding paragraph, notice under Article 389, paragraph (1) has been given and the fixed assets tax amount already assessed falls short of the fixed assets tax amount for the relevant fiscal year calculated on the basis of that notice (hereinafter in this paragraph and paragraph (8), item (ii) referred to as "finally computed tax amount"), a municipality must collect the shortfall in the payment period arriving on or after the day on which the notice was given, and if the fixed assets tax amount already collected exceeds the finally computed tax amount, must, in accordance with the rules of Article 17 or Article 17-2, refund the overpaid amount or appropriate it to the local government levies unpaid by the person liable for tax.

When a municipality collects fixed assets tax under paragraph (5), the tax notice delivered to the taxpayer must, notwithstanding paragraph (2), be delivered separately from the one for fixed assets other than the fixed assets referred to in paragraph (5). In this case, the fixed assets tax imposed on the fixed assets referred to in that paragraph and the fixed assets tax imposed on fixed assets other than those fixed assets are each regarded as a single local tax for the purpose of applying Article 20-4-2.

In the tax notice referred to in the preceding paragraph, the matters set out in the following items and other necessary matters must be stated as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

That the tax base amount and tax amount of the fixed assets referred to in paragraph (5) stated in the tax notice are, respectively, the price that was the tax base of fixed assets tax for the previous fiscal year for those fixed assets and the tax amount provisionally calculated with that price as the tax base.

That, if the provisionally calculated tax already assessed falls short of the finally computed tax amount, the shortfall will be collected in the payment period arriving on or after the day on which notice under Article 389, paragraph (1) was given, and, if the provisionally calculated tax already collected exceeds the finally computed tax amount, the overpaid amount will be refunded or appropriated to the local government levies unpaid by the person liable for tax.

The tax notice referred to in paragraph (2) or (7) or the tax details statement referred to in paragraph (3) must be delivered to the taxpayer no later than 10 days before the due date for payment.

When assessing and collecting fixed assets tax, a municipality may assess and collect together the city planning tax relating to the taxpayer.

If it is found that the fixed assets tax amount for the relevant fiscal year relating to the fixed assets referred to in Article 364, paragraph (5) would fall short of an amount equivalent to one-half of the provisionally calculated tax, the person who is to be charged fixed assets tax on those fixed assets under Article 364, paragraph (5) may, within 30 days from the day on which the person received delivery of the tax notice under Article 364, paragraph (7), apply to the mayor of the municipality to revise the fixed assets tax amount to be collected under Article 364, paragraph (5).

An application for revision under the preceding paragraph must be made in writing.

The decision of the mayor of the municipality on an application for revision under paragraph (1) must be made within 30 days from the day on which the application was accepted.

A decision on an application for revision under paragraph (1) must be made in writing and delivered, with reasons attached, to the person who made the application. In this case, if it is found that there are reasonable grounds for the application, the mayor of the municipality must revise the fixed assets tax amount to be collected under Article 364, paragraph (5) on the basis of the estimated fixed assets tax amount for the relevant fiscal year for the fixed assets.

Where documents relating to an application for revision under paragraph (1) are submitted by mail or correspondence delivery, the number of days required for sending is not counted in calculating the period under paragraph (1).

A request for review may not be made against a decision under paragraph (3).

A taxpayer of fixed assets tax who intends to pay tax in an amount equivalent to the amount payable for a payment period that has arrived, out of the amounts payable stated in the tax notice, may also pay together tax in amounts equivalent to the amounts payable for payment periods after that payment period.

If a taxpayer of fixed assets tax has paid, under the preceding paragraph, tax in an amount equivalent to the amount payable for a payment period after that payment period, the municipality may grant to the taxpayer a monetary incentive in the amount specified by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality; provided, however, that this does not apply if there are local government levies unpaid by the taxpayer.

The amount of the monetary incentive under the preceding paragraph may not exceed the amount obtained by multiplying one percent of the amount of tax paid before the payment period under paragraph (1) by the number of months before the payment period (where there is a fraction of less than one month, a fraction of 14 days or less is to be discarded and a fraction of 15 days or more is to be counted as one month).

The mayor of a municipality may reduce or exempt fixed assets tax, as provided by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, only for persons who are found to need a reduction or exemption of fixed assets tax in the case of a natural disaster or other special circumstances, persons who receive public or private assistance for living due to poverty, and other persons with special circumstances.

If the mayor of the municipality discovers that there is a shortfall in the fixed assets tax amount for a person who is obliged to apply to a registry office for registration under the provisions of Article 36, Article 37, paragraph (1) or (2), Article 42, Article 47, paragraph (1), Article 51, paragraph (1) (excluding the part concerning a building for which there is a registration to the effect that it is a common element or a common element of a housing complex), (2) or (3), or Article 57 of the Real Property Registration Act, who is obliged to report to the mayor of the municipality or the prefectural governor under the provisions of Article 383 or Article 383 as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 745, paragraph (1), or who is obliged to report to the prefectural governor or the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications under the provisions of Article 394, on the basis that the price of the fixed asset (meaning, for land and houses, the base-year price or the price that is to be based on comparison with that price under the proviso to Article 349, paragraph (2), the proviso to Article 349, paragraph (3), Article 349, paragraph (4), the proviso to Article 349, paragraph (5) or Article 349, paragraph (6) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "comparison-based price"), and for depreciable assets, the price on the assessment date; the same applies hereinafter) was determined or corrected under Article 417 or Article 743, paragraph (2) because that person did not make the application or report that the person should have made, or made a false application or report, the mayor must immediately collect additionally the portion of the shortfall that relates to the payment periods up to the day on which the determination was made (hereinafter in this Article referred to as "shortfall"). However, if the total of the shortfall and the fixed assets tax amount already collected by the mayor of the municipality would exceed the fixed assets tax amount on the amount that the municipality should make the tax base of fixed assets tax under Article 349-4 or Article 349-5, the shortfall that the mayor is to collect additionally is limited to the difference between the fixed assets tax amount already collected and the fixed assets tax amount on the amount that the municipality should make the tax base of fixed assets tax under Article 349-5.

In the case of the preceding paragraph, a municipal tax collection official must collect the shortfall with an amount of delinquency charge added that is equivalent to the amount calculated by multiplying the amount obtained by dividing the shortfall by the number of payment periods up to the day on which the determination was made by the rate of 14.6 percent per annum (7.3 percent per annum for the period until the day on which payment is to be made under the tax notice for the shortfall, or the period until the day on which one month has elapsed from the day following that day), according to the number of days in the period from the day following the due date for payment under Article 362 (where there has been an extension of the due date for payment, the extended due date for payment; the same applies hereinafter for fixed assets tax) to the day of payment.

If the mayor of the municipality finds that there are unavoidable grounds for the taxpayer having been charged the shortfall additionally under paragraph (1), the mayor may reduce or exempt the amount of delinquency charge referred to in the preceding paragraph.

A taxpayer of fixed assets tax who pays the tax after the due date for payment under Article 362 must add to the tax amount, and pay, an amount of delinquency charge equivalent to the amount calculated by multiplying the tax amount by the rate of 14.6 percent per annum (7.3 percent per annum for the period until the day on which one month has elapsed from the day following that due date for payment), according to the number of days in the period from the day following the due date for payment to the day of payment.

If the mayor of the municipality finds that there are unavoidable grounds for the taxpayer not having paid by the due date for payment referred to in the preceding paragraph, the mayor may reduce or exempt the amount of delinquency charge referred to in that paragraph.