Local Tax Act

A municipality may not impose fixed assets tax if, for the same person, the amount that is to be the tax base of fixed assets tax imposed on land, houses or depreciable assets owned by the person within the area of the municipality is less than 300,000 yen for land or houses, or 1,800,000 yen for depreciable assets; provided, however, that if there is a need on fiscal or other grounds, the municipality may impose fixed assets tax as provided by a Municipal Ordinance of the municipality even if the amount is less than 300,000 yen or 1,800,000 yen, respectively.

With respect to fixed assets tax imposed on a building held in unit ownership, the unit owner prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership relating to an exclusively-owned area prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership of the building held in unit ownership (hereinafter in this Article and the following Article referred to as "exclusively-owned area") (hereinafter referred to as "unit owner" in relation to fixed assets tax) is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1), obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each unit owner relating to the building held in unit ownership, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the building held in unit ownership by the ratio of the floor areas of exclusively-owned areas calculated in accordance with the rules of Article 14, paragraphs (1) through (3) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership (where there are significant differences in the ceiling height of exclusively-owned areas, the degree of ancillary equipment or other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the ratio corrected in accordance with those differences as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications).

With respect to fixed assets tax imposed on those buildings held in unit ownership that are buildings prescribed in Article 20, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Building Standards Act, have exclusively-owned areas used for human residence on multiple floors, and have two or more such exclusively-owned areas (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "high-rise residential building"), the unit owner relating to an exclusively-owned area of the high-rise residential building is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1) and the preceding paragraph, obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each unit owner relating to the high-rise residential building, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the high-rise residential building, according to the category of exclusively-owned area set out in the following items, by the ratio of the floor area of the exclusively-owned area specified in the relevant item to the total floor area of all exclusively-owned areas of the high-rise residential building (where there are significant differences in the ceiling height of exclusively-owned areas, the degree of ancillary equipment or other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the ratio corrected in accordance with those differences as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications).

Exclusively-owned area used for human residence: the floor area of the exclusively-owned area (where the unit owner relating to the exclusively-owned area owns a partial common element prescribed in Article 3 of the Act on Building Unit Ownership (excluding one that is an attached building) that has floor area, the floor area of the exclusively-owned area including the floor area of that partial common element, calculated in accordance with the rules of Article 14, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership; the same applies in the following item) corrected, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in consideration of trends in transaction prices for each floor of high-rise residential buildings nationwide

Exclusively-owned area other than that set out in the preceding item: the floor area of the exclusively-owned area

With respect to the common element prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership (hereinafter in this paragraph and the following Article referred to as "common element") of a building held in unit ownership that is owned by a unit owner or administrator under bylaws under Article 11, paragraph (2) or Article 27, paragraph (1) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership (including those deemed to be such under Article 88, paragraph (4) of the Urban Renewal Act), the preceding two paragraphs apply by deeming the common element to belong to the co-ownership of all unit owners of exclusively-owned areas of the building (for a partial common element prescribed in Article 3 of the Act on Building Unit Ownership, all unit owners under the proviso to Article 11, paragraph (1) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership).

With respect to fixed assets tax imposed on land used as the site of a building held in unit ownership (hereinafter in this paragraph, the following paragraph and paragraph (5) referred to as "shared site land") that satisfies the following requirements, a person liable for tax relating to the shared site land who is a unit owner of the building held in unit ownership relating to the shared site land (where one exclusively-owned area of the building held in unit ownership relating to the shared site land is co-owned by two or more persons, those two or more persons are treated as a single unit owner with respect to that exclusively-owned area; hereinafter in this paragraph and paragraph (5) referred to as "taxpayer for shared site land") is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1), obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each taxpayer for shared site land relating to the shared site land, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the shared site land by the ratio of the share of each taxpayer for shared site land in the shared site land (where the shared site land is land having both a portion that is residential land and a portion other than residential land, or in other cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the ratio of the share corrected as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications).

The land is co-owned by all unit owners of the building held in unit ownership relating to the shared site land.

The ratio of the share of each taxpayer for shared site land in the shared site land matches the ratio under Article 14, paragraphs (1) through (3) of the Act on Building Unit Ownership with respect to the common element belonging to the co-ownership of all unit owners of the building held in unit ownership relating to the shared site land of that person.

If the building held in unit ownership relating to the shared site land has no common element belonging to the co-ownership of all unit owners, the provisions of Article 352, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis. In this case, the phrase "the preceding two paragraphs" in Article 352, paragraph (3) is deemed to be replaced with "paragraph (1) of the following Article".

With respect to fixed assets tax for the fiscal year following, or the second fiscal year following, the disaster fiscal year imposed on land that had been used as the site of a building held in unit ownership that was lost or damaged due to an earthquake or other disaster (hereinafter in this paragraph and paragraph (6) referred to as "disaster-stricken building under unit ownership") and to which paragraph (1) was applied for fixed assets tax for the disaster fiscal year (excluding land divided on or after the date on which the earthquake or other disaster occurred; hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph referred to as "disaster-stricken common land"), the person liable for tax relating to the disaster-stricken common land (where there was an exclusively-owned area of the disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the disaster-stricken common land that was co-owned by two or more persons, those two or more persons are treated as a single person liable for tax relating to the disaster-stricken common land; hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "person liable for tax for disaster-stricken common land") is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1), obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each person liable for tax for disaster-stricken common land relating to the disaster-stricken common land, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the disaster-stricken common land by the ratio of share relating to the disaster-stricken common land of each person liable for tax for disaster-stricken common land (where the disaster-stricken common land is land having both a portion deemed to be residential land under Article 349-3-3, paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis under paragraph (2) of that Article) and a portion other than a portion deemed to be residential land, or in other cases specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the ratio of share corrected as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications).

Where the former land corresponding to specified provisional replotting land, etc. is disaster-stricken common land, and, with respect to fixed assets tax for the fiscal year following, or the second fiscal year following, the disaster fiscal year, the person registered or recorded as owner in the register or supplementary land tax ledger for the disaster-stricken common land has been deemed to be the owner under Article 343, paragraph (1) by Article 343, paragraph (7), the preceding paragraph applies to the fixed assets tax for each of those fiscal years imposed on the specified provisional replotting land, etc., by deeming the specified provisional replotting land, etc. to be disaster-stricken common land. In this case, the phrase "disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the disaster-stricken common land" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the disaster-stricken common land that is the former land corresponding to the specified provisional replotting land, etc.", "person liable for tax for disaster-stricken common land" with "person liable for tax on specified provisional replotting land, etc.", "ratio of share relating to the disaster-stricken common land" with "ratio of share relating to the disaster-stricken common land that is the former land corresponding to the specified provisional replotting land, etc.", and "Article 349-3-3, paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis under paragraph (2) of that Article)" with "Article 349-3-3, paragraph (1) as applied with replacement of terms under Article 349-3-3, paragraph (3) (including as applied mutatis mutandis under paragraph (4) of that Article)".

In addition to what is provided for in paragraph (1), with respect to fixed assets tax imposed on shared site land that satisfies the requirement set out in item (i) of that paragraph but does not satisfy the requirement set out in item (ii) of that paragraph, if, as provided by the Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, all taxpayers for shared site land relating to the shared site land have applied to the mayor of the municipality, by agreement, to apportion the fixed assets tax amount relating to the shared site land by a ratio determined in conformity with the ratio used in apportioning under that paragraph, and the mayor of the municipality, taking into consideration the method of apportionment under that paragraph, finds it appropriate to apportion by that ratio, each taxpayer for shared site land relating to the shared site land is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1), obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each taxpayer for shared site land relating to the shared site land, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the shared site land by that ratio.

With respect to fixed assets tax for the fiscal year following, or the second fiscal year following, the disaster fiscal year imposed on land that had been used as the site of a disaster-stricken building under unit ownership and to which the preceding paragraph was applied for fixed assets tax for the disaster fiscal year (excluding land divided on or after the date on which the earthquake or other disaster occurred; hereinafter in this paragraph and the following paragraph referred to as "specified disaster-stricken common land"), if, as provided by the Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, all persons liable for tax relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land (where there was an exclusively-owned area of the disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land that was co-owned by two or more persons, those two or more persons are treated as a single person liable for tax relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land; hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "person liable for tax for specified disaster-stricken common land") have applied to the mayor of the municipality, by agreement, to apportion the fixed assets tax amount relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land by a ratio determined in conformity with the ratio used in apportioning under paragraph (3), and the mayor of the municipality, taking into consideration the method of apportionment under that paragraph, finds it appropriate to apportion by that ratio, each person liable for tax for specified disaster-stricken common land relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land is, notwithstanding Article 10-2, paragraph (1), obligated to pay, as the fixed assets tax of each person liable for tax for specified disaster-stricken common land relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land, the amount obtained by apportioning the fixed assets tax amount relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land by that ratio.

Where the former land corresponding to specified provisional replotting land, etc. is specified disaster-stricken common land, and, with respect to fixed assets tax for the fiscal year following, or the second fiscal year following, the disaster fiscal year, the person registered or recorded as owner in the register or supplementary land tax ledger for the specified disaster-stricken common land has been deemed to be the owner under Article 343, paragraph (1) by Article 343, paragraph (7), the preceding paragraph applies to the fixed assets tax for each of those fiscal years imposed on the specified provisional replotting land, etc., by deeming the specified provisional replotting land, etc. to be specified disaster-stricken common land. In this case, the phrase "disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "disaster-stricken building under unit ownership relating to the specified disaster-stricken common land that is the former land corresponding to the specified provisional replotting land, etc.", and "person liable for tax for specified disaster-stricken common land" with "person liable for tax on specified provisional replotting land, etc.".