Local Tax Act

In the case under Article 613, paragraph (6), a person who makes a false statement on a matter that is to be stated to the mayor of the municipality in accordance with the rules of Article 99-2 of the National Tax Collection Act (including where applied mutatis mutandis under Article 109, paragraph (4) of that Act) is to be punished by imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.

In addition to the special land holding tax imposed on land, the municipality in which land is located imposes special land holding tax on the owner of idle land, where the idle land (referred to in this Subsection as "idle land") is land located within an idle land conversion promotion district prescribed in Article 10-3, paragraph (1) of the City Planning Act (referred to as an "idle land conversion promotion district" in Article 629, paragraph (1)) and forming a contiguous parcel of 1,000 square meters or more in area that the same person owns on January 1 of the year that includes the day on which filing and payment is to be made under Article 625, paragraph (1).

The tax base of the special land holding tax imposed on idle land is the market value of the idle land or the acquisition cost of the land that is idle land, whichever amount is higher (referred to as the "market value, etc." in Article 625, paragraph (2)).

The market value of idle land and the acquisition cost of land that is idle land prescribed in the preceding paragraph are the amounts calculated as provided by Cabinet Order.

With respect to an acquisition of land specified by Cabinet Order, among acquisitions of land that is idle land, as an acquisition without consideration or at a significantly low price or in other cases involving special circumstances, the amount calculated as provided by Cabinet Order as the acquisition cost of that land is deemed to be the acquisition cost of that land.

The tax rate of the special land holding tax imposed on idle land is 1.4/100.

The amount of the special land holding tax imposed on idle land is the amount obtained by deducting, from the amount obtained by multiplying the tax base amount referred to in paragraph (2) of the following Article by the tax rate under the preceding Article, the total of the amounts obtained by multiplying by 1.4/100 the price that is to be the tax base of the fixed assets tax for that fiscal year that the municipality is to impose under Articles 342 and 343 on the land that is idle land referred to in that paragraph (where, among the land that is idle land, there is land on which special land holding tax imposed on land is levied, the amount obtained by adding to that total the total amount of the special land holding tax under Article 599, paragraph (1), item (i) prescribed in Article 596 for that fiscal year that the municipality is to impose on that land under Article 585).

A person liable for the special land holding tax imposed on idle land (referred to as the "person liable for tax" in the following paragraph) must, by May 31 of that year, file with the mayor of the municipality a return stating the tax base amount and tax amount of that special land holding tax and other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and pay the declared tax amount to that municipality.

The tax base amount referred to in the preceding paragraph is the total of the market values, etc. of the idle land that the person liable for tax owns on January 1.

The provisions of Articles 601 to 603-2-2 do not apply to the special land holding tax imposed on land on which special land holding tax imposed on idle land is levied (excluding land to which Article 629, paragraph (1) applies).

Where special land holding tax is imposed under the provisions of Article 621, the provisions concerning special land holding tax imposed on land among the provisions of Subsection 1 through the preceding Subsection of this Section (excluding Article 585, paragraphs (1) and (3), Article 586, paragraphs (2) to (4), Article 587, paragraph (1), Article 587-2, Articles 593 to 597, Article 599, and Articles 601 to 603-2-2) apply mutatis mutandis. In this case, the phrase "the 'land' referred to in the preceding paragraph" in Article 585, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the 'land' located within an idle land conversion promotion district under Article 621", the phrase "the landowner, etc. under Article 585, paragraph (1)" in paragraphs (5) and (6) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "the owner of idle land prescribed in Article 621", the phrase "paragraph (1) of the preceding Article" in Article 600 and the phrase "Article 599, paragraph (1)" in Article 606 are deemed to be replaced with "Article 625, paragraph (1)", the phrase "the due date for payment under Article 599, paragraph (1)" in Article 607, paragraph (2) is deemed to be replaced with "the due date for payment under Article 625, paragraph (1) (where the due date for payment has been extended, the extended due date for payment)", the phrase "the due date for payment under Article 599, paragraph (1)" in Article 608, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "the due date for payment under Article 625, paragraph (1) (where the due date for payment has been extended, the extended due date for payment; the same applies hereinafter in this Article)", the phrase "Article 599, paragraph (1)" in paragraph (2) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "Article 625, paragraph (1)", and the phrase "the due date for payment of the tax deficiency" in Article 611, paragraph (1) is deemed to be replaced with "the due date for payment of the tax deficiency, and where the due date for payment has been extended, the extended due date for payment".

Beyond what is provided in Articles 621 to the preceding Article, the application of Article 621 to co-owners, etc. and other matters necessary for the application of those provisions are specified by Cabinet Order.

If the mayor of the municipality has certified that, with respect to idle land, a circumstance listed in any of the following items exists, the municipality is to exempt the person from the tax liability relating to the local government levies relating to the special land holding tax imposed on that idle land.

Where the purpose of the city planning concerning that idle land is found to have been achieved, it is clear that, if that idle land were excluded from the area of the idle land conversion promotion district by a change to the city plan concerning idle land conversion promotion districts, the changed idle land conversion promotion district would no longer fall under the provisions of Article 10-3, paragraph (1), items (ii) to (iv) of the City Planning Act.

Opinions have been heard under Article 17, paragraph (4) of the City Planning Act on excluding that idle land from the area of the idle land conversion promotion district.

An owner of idle land who wishes to receive the application of the provisions of the preceding paragraph must, by the due date for payment under Article 625, paragraph (1) (where the due date for payment has been extended, the extended due date for payment; the same applies in paragraph (5)), file with the mayor of the municipality an application to the effect that the provisions of the preceding paragraph are to apply to the special land holding tax imposed on that idle land; provided, however, that this does not apply to idle land for which a determination under that paragraph has already been obtained, where there has been no change in the circumstances relating to that determination and no change in the owner of that idle land.

A determination under paragraph (1) is to be made only where an application under the main clause of the preceding paragraph has been filed or where the case falls under the proviso to that paragraph.

When the mayor of the municipality has made a determination under paragraph (1), or has decided not to make that determination, the mayor must notify the owner of the idle land concerned of that fact without delay; provided, however, that this does not apply when making a determination under paragraph (1) for idle land falling under the proviso to paragraph (2).

The mayor of the municipality is to defer the collection of the local government levies relating to the special land holding tax imposed on the idle land relating to an application under the main clause of paragraph (2), or on idle land for which a finding under paragraph (1) has already been obtained, for the period from the due date for payment under Article 625, paragraph (1) to the day on which the finding under paragraph (1) is made (where a decision not to make a finding under that paragraph has been made, the day on which the notification under the preceding paragraph is given), if an application under the main clause of paragraph (2) has been filed, or if there has been no change in the circumstances relating to a finding under paragraph (1) already obtained for the idle land and no change in the owner of that idle land; provided, however, that this does not apply where it is clear that none of the circumstances listed in the items of that paragraph exists with respect to that idle land.

In applying Article 607, paragraph (2) and Article 608, paragraph (1), item (iv) as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 627 where collection of levies has been deferred under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the phrase "Article 601, paragraph (3) or (4) (including where these provisions are applied mutatis mutandis under Article 602, paragraph (2) and Article 603-2-2, paragraph (2)), Article 603, paragraph (3) or Article 603-2, paragraph (5)" in those provisions is deemed to be replaced with "Article 629, paragraph (5)".

A determination under paragraph (1) is to be based on the situation as of January 1 of the year that includes the day on which filing and payment is to be made under Article 625, paragraph (1).

The provisions of Article 601, paragraphs (7) to (9) apply mutatis mutandis to the case referred to in paragraph (1).

Procedures for an application under paragraph (2) and other matters necessary for the application of the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (5) and (7) are specified by Cabinet Order.