Local Tax Act

The mayor of the municipality must register in the land tax ledger, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with respect to land registered in the register, the registered matters listed in Article 27, item (iii) and the items of Article 34, paragraph (1) of the Real Property Registration Act, the address and name or designation of the nominal holder of registration of ownership, pledge and superficies right with a specified duration of more than 100 years, and the base-year price or comparison-based price of that land (in the cases of Article 343, paragraph (2), latter part, and paragraphs (4) and (5), the address and name or designation of the person on whom fixed assets tax is to be imposed under those provisions, and the base-year price or comparison-based price).

The mayor of the municipality must register in the supplementary land tax ledger, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with respect to land that is not registered in the register and on which fixed assets tax may be imposed under the provisions of this Act, the address and name or designation of the owner, and the location, lot number, land category, area and base-year price or comparison-based price of that land.

The mayor of the municipality must register in the house tax ledger, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with respect to houses registered in the register, the registered matters listed in Article 27, item (iii) and the items of Article 44, paragraph (1) of the Real Property Registration Act, the address and name or designation of the nominal holder of registration of ownership, and the base-year price or comparison-based price of that house (in the cases of Article 343, paragraph (2), latter part, and paragraphs (4) and (5), the address and name or designation of the person on whom fixed assets tax is to be imposed under those provisions, and the base-year price or comparison-based price).

The mayor of the municipality must register in the supplementary house tax ledger, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, with respect to houses other than houses registered in the register and on which fixed assets tax may be imposed under the provisions of this Act, the address and name or designation of the owner, and the location, house number, type, structure, floor area and base-year price or comparison-based price of that house.

The mayor of the municipality must register in the depreciable assets tax ledger, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the address and name or designation of the owner of a depreciable asset (in the cases of Article 343, paragraphs (9) and (10), the person deemed to be the owner under those provisions; the same applies in Article 383 and Article 742, paragraphs (1) and (3)), and the location, type, quantity and price of the depreciable asset.

In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the mayor of the municipality must register in the fixed assets tax ledger, for fixed assets subject to the application of Article 349-3, Article 349-3-2 or Article 349-3-4, the amount obtained by multiplying the price of those fixed assets by the rate provided for in those provisions, and for depreciable assets subject to the application of Article 349-4 or Article 349-5, the amount that the municipality is to take as the tax base for fixed assets tax under those provisions.

If the mayor of the municipality finds that there is an impediment to taxation because land or a house that should be registered in the register is not registered, or because the registered matters, such as the land category, differ from the facts, the mayor may request the registry office having jurisdiction over the location of that land or house to take measures such as making the registration that should be made or correcting the registered matters. In this case, the registry office must, if it finds the request appropriate, without delay take measures such as making the registration pertaining to the request or correcting the registered matters, and if it finds the request inappropriate, without delay notify the mayor of the municipality to that effect.

When imposing fixed assets tax, based on Article 343, paragraph (7), on a person deemed to be the owner prescribed in paragraph (1) of that Article in respect of provisional replotting land, etc., provisionally used land, reserved land or replotted land, the mayor of the municipality must, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, register on a separate sheet the address and name or designation of the person deemed to be the owner of that provisional replotting land, etc., provisionally used land, reserved land or replotted land, and the location, land category, area and base-year price or comparison-based price, and attach it to the land tax ledger or supplementary land tax ledger in which the former land corresponding to that provisional replotting land, etc. or replotted land, or the provisionally used land or reserved land, is registered. In this case, with respect to that former land or provisionally used land or reserved land, notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), it is not necessary to register the base-year price or comparison-based price in the land tax ledger or supplementary land tax ledger, and the separate sheet attached to that land tax ledger or supplementary land tax ledger is deemed to be a supplementary land tax ledger for the purpose of the application of the provisions of this Act.

A municipality may, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, prepare the separate sheet referred to in the preceding paragraph by preparing an electronic or magnetic record.

When a registry office has made a registration concerning the description of land or a building, it must, within 10 days, notify the mayor of the municipality in which that land or house is located of that fact and other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the following cases.

where a registration of ownership, pledge or superficies right with a specified duration of more than 100 years, or the cancellation of such a registration, a registration of change or registration of correction concerning the name or designation or address of the nominal holder of registration of those rights, or a registration of change of a superficies right changing a duration of more than 100 years to a duration of less than 100 years has been made (excluding the case where a registration of preservation of ownership has been made for the owner recorded in the title section of the register, or where that registration has been cancelled);

where an annotation has been made under Article 76-3, paragraph (3) of the Real Property Registration Act;

where a code has been indicated under Article 76-4 of the Real Property Registration Act;

where a request under Article 119, paragraph (6) of the Real Property Registration Act has been received from the owner recorded in the title section of the register, or the nominal holder of registration of ownership, pledge or superficies right with a specified duration of more than 100 years, or another person specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications;

in addition to those listed in the preceding items, cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

When the mayor of the municipality has received a notice from the registry office under paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis in the preceding paragraph (limited to the part pertaining to item (i))), the mayor must without delay enter changes concerning that land or house in the land tax ledger or house tax ledger (or, where the maintenance of that land tax ledger or house tax ledger is carried out by maintaining an electronic or magnetic record under Article 380, paragraph (2), record them; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), or correct the matters entered therein.

In response to a request from a person liable for tax or any other person specified by Cabinet Order, the mayor of the municipality must make available for inspection by those persons the portion of the fixed assets tax ledger in which matters concerning the fixed assets specified by Cabinet Order as relating to those persons (excluding matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications; hereinafter the same in this paragraph) are entered (where the fixed assets tax ledger is kept by keeping electronic or magnetic records under Article 380, paragraph (2), recorded; hereinafter the same in this Article, the following Article and Article 394) or a copy of that portion (where the fixed assets tax ledger is kept by keeping electronic or magnetic records under that paragraph, a document stating the matters recorded in the fixed assets tax ledger; the same in Article 387, paragraph (3)). However, where it is found that disclosure of the address entered in that portion could endanger a person's life or body, or where it is otherwise found inappropriate to make that portion or a copy of it available for inspection, the mayor may make available for inspection that portion with measures specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications applied to it, or a copy of it (where the fixed assets tax ledger is kept by keeping electronic or magnetic records under Article 380, paragraph (2), a document stating the matters recorded in the portion with the measures specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications applied to it).

When the mayor of the municipality makes the fixed assets tax ledger (including one to which the measures under the proviso to paragraph (1) of this Article have been applied; hereinafter the same in this paragraph and Article 382-4) or a copy of it available for inspection under the preceding paragraph, the mayor may display the matters entered in the fixed assets tax ledger on a screen for inspection.

In addition to what is provided for in Article 20-10, when requested by a person specified by Cabinet Order, the mayor of the municipality must issue a certificate of those matters, specified by Cabinet Order, among the matters entered in the fixed assets tax ledger concerning the fixed assets specified by Cabinet Order as relating to those persons. However, where it is found that disclosure of the address stated in the certificate could endanger a person's life or body, or where it is otherwise found inappropriate to issue the certificate, the mayor may issue the certificate with measures specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications applied to it.

When the mayor of the municipality makes the fixed assets tax ledger or a copy of it available for inspection under Article 382-2, makes an owner-indexed land ledger or owner-indexed house ledger, or a copy of either, available for inspection under Article 387, paragraph (3) or (4), or issues a certificate (including one to which the measures under the proviso to the preceding Article have been applied) under Article 20-10 or the preceding Article, and the address entered (where the fixed assets tax ledger, owner-indexed land ledger or owner-indexed house ledger is kept by keeping electronic or magnetic records under Article 380, paragraph (2) or Article 387, paragraph (2), recorded; hereinafter the same in this Article) in the fixed assets tax ledger, owner-indexed land ledger or owner-indexed house ledger concerned in that inspection or issuance is the address (limited to one specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) of a person to whom a notice under Article 382, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis in Article 382, paragraph (2) (limited to the part relating to item (iv)) relates (limited to cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications), the mayor must, notwithstanding Article 20-10, Article 382-2, the preceding Article and Article 387, paragraphs (3) and (4), and as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, make available for inspection the fixed assets tax ledger, owner-indexed land ledger or owner-indexed house ledger in which the matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have been entered in place of that address, or a copy of it (where the fixed assets tax ledger, owner-indexed land ledger or owner-indexed house ledger is kept by keeping electronic or magnetic records under Article 380, paragraph (2) or Article 387, paragraph (2), a document stating the matters recorded in the ledger in which the matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications have been recorded), or issue the certificate stating the matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in place of that address.

The owner of a depreciable asset on which there is fixed assets tax liability (excluding the owner of a depreciable asset to be valued by the prefectural governor or the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications under Article 389, paragraph (1), or of a depreciable asset designated by the prefectural governor under Article 742, paragraph (1) or (3)) must, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, report to the mayor of the municipality in which the depreciable asset is located, by January 31, the location, type, quantity, time of acquisition, acquisition cost, useful life, estimated price and other matters necessary for registration in the depreciable assets tax ledger and for determining the price of the depreciable asset, with respect to the depreciable asset as of January 1 of each year.

The mayor of the municipality may, as provided by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, have the owner of residential land report, with respect to the residential land as of the assessment date for the relevant fiscal year, its location and area, the floor area and use of the houses on it, the number of dwellings on it and other matters necessary for the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax. However, this does not apply if the owner of the residential land on the assessment date for the previous fiscal year of the relevant fiscal year continues to own the residential land and there is no change in the matters to be reported.

If there has been a change from residential land to land other than residential land on the assessment date for the relevant fiscal year, and the owner of the land has continued to own the land since the assessment date for the previous fiscal year of the relevant fiscal year, the mayor of the municipality may, as provided by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, have the owner of the land report to that effect.