Local Tax Act

A municipality may not impose the special land holding tax imposed on land on land owned by an owner of land, the acquisition of which falls under an acquisition to which Article 73-6 applies, an acquisition under any item of Article 73-7, or another acquisition specified by Cabinet Order as similar to these, and which is specified by Cabinet Order among those.

A municipality may not impose the special land holding tax imposed on the acquisition of land on an acquisition of land that falls under an acquisition to which Article 73-6 applies, an acquisition under any item of Article 73-7, or another acquisition specified by Cabinet Order as similar to these.

A municipality may not impose the special land holding tax imposed on land on land relating to the implementation of a land readjustment project under the Land Readjustment Act (including a project under Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Farming and Residence Association Act to which the provisions of the Land Readjustment Act apply pursuant to Article 8, paragraph (1) of that Act, a project under Article 45, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Act on Promotion of Improvement of Disaster Control Districts in Populated Urban Districts to which the provisions of the Land Readjustment Act apply pursuant to Article 46, paragraph (1) of that Act, and a residential block improvement project under the Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Supply of Houses and Housing Lands in Urban Districts; hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as a "land readjustment project") or a land improvement project under the Land Improvement Act, that is land managed by the implementer of that land readjustment project or the person carrying out that land improvement project pursuant to Article 100-2 of the Land Readjustment Act (including where it applies under Article 8, paragraph (1) of the Farming and Residence Association Act and Article 46, paragraph (1) of the Act on Promotion of Improvement of Disaster Control Districts in Populated Urban Districts, and where it applies mutatis mutandis under Article 83 of the Act on Special Measures concerning Promotion of Supply of Houses and Housing Lands in Urban Districts) or Article 53-7 of the Land Improvement Act (including where it applies mutatis mutandis under Article 89-2, paragraph (8), Article 96 and Article 96-4, paragraph (1) of that Act) (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "land planned as reserved land, etc."); provided, however, that this does not apply where the land that is that land planned as reserved land, etc. relates to the implementation of a land readjustment project, and a person other than the implementer of that land readjustment project, or a participating member of a land readjustment association, has been deemed to be a landowner, etc. with respect to that land planned as reserved land, etc. under Article 73-2, paragraph (12) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 585, paragraph (5).

The provisions of Article 586, paragraph (4) apply mutatis mutandis to the case referred to in the preceding paragraph.

If necessary for an investigation concerning the assessment and collection of the special land holding tax, a municipal tax collection official may question the persons listed below, or inspect the books and documents of the persons in item (i) or (ii) (including, where electronic or magnetic records (meaning records made in electronic form, magnetic form or any other form that cannot be perceived by human senses, which are used for information processing by a computer) have been made or kept in lieu of making or keeping them, those electronic or magnetic records; the same applies in items (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1) of the following Article) and other articles, or request the presentation or submission of those articles (including copies thereof).

a person liable for tax or a person found to have tax liability;

a person found to have an obligation to deliver money or goods to a person listed in the preceding item, or a person found to have a right to receive money or goods from a person listed in the preceding item;

a person other than those listed in the preceding two items who is found to be directly related to the assessment and collection of that special land holding tax.

A successor corporation in a company split (meaning a corporation that has had assets and liabilities transferred to it by a splitting corporation in a company split; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) in a company split in which a person listed in item (i) of the preceding paragraph is the splitting corporation (meaning a corporation that has transferred its assets and liabilities through a company split; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) is included in the persons found to have the right to receive goods prescribed in item (ii) of the preceding paragraph, and a splitting corporation in a company split in which a person listed in item (i) of the preceding paragraph is the successor corporation in a company split is included in the persons found to have the obligation to deliver goods prescribed in item (ii) of the preceding paragraph.

In the case referred to in paragraph (1), the tax collection official in question must carry an identification card certifying the official's status and present it when requested by a person concerned.

A municipal tax collection official may, as provided by Cabinet Order, retain the articles submitted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1).

Investigations concerning delinquent tax collection procedures for the special land holding tax are governed by the provisions of Article 613, paragraph (6), notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1).

The authority of a municipal tax collection official under paragraph (1) or (4) must not be construed as having been granted for the purpose of a criminal investigation.

In a case that falls under any of the following items, the person who committed the violation is to be punished by imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen:

if the person refuses, obstructs or evades an inspection of books, documents or other articles under the provisions of the preceding Article;

if the person, without justifiable grounds, fails to comply with a request to present or submit articles under the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, or presents or submits books, documents or other articles (including copies thereof) containing false entries or records;

When a person fails to answer questions put by a tax collection official under the preceding Article, or gives a false answer.

Where a representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee or other worker of a corporation or person, has committed a violation set forth in the preceding paragraph in connection with the business or property of that corporation or person, in addition to punishing the offender, the fine prescribed in that paragraph is to be imposed on that corporation or person.

If a person liable for the special land holding tax has no domicile, residence, office or place of business (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as a "address, etc.") in the municipality in which that person bears tax liability, that person must, in order to have all matters relating to tax payment handled, either appoint a tax agent from among persons having a address, etc. within the area specified by Municipal Ordinance of that municipality and report the appointment to the mayor of the municipality, or apply to the mayor of the municipality for approval to appoint as a tax agent a person having a address, etc. outside that area who is in a convenient position to handle those matters, and obtain that approval. The same applies where that person changes or intends to change the tax agent.

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, a person liable for tax is not required to appoint a tax agent if the person has applied to the mayor of the municipality for, and obtained, a finding that there is no impediment to securing the collection of the special land holding tax relating to that person liable for tax.

If a person makes a false report concerning a tax agent to be reported under the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, or obtains the approval under that paragraph or the certification under paragraph (2) of that Article by deceit or other wrongful means, the person who committed the violation is to be punished by a fine of not more than 300,000 yen.

Where a representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee or other worker of a corporation or person, has committed a violation under the preceding paragraph in connection with the business or property of that corporation or person, in addition to punishing the offender, the penalty prescribed in that paragraph is to be imposed on that corporation or person.

A municipality may establish a provision by Municipal Ordinance imposing a non-penal fine of not more than 100,000 yen on a person liable for the special land holding tax who has not obtained the finding under Article 590, paragraph (2) and has not obtained the approval under paragraph (1) of that Article, if, without justifiable grounds, the person fails to make the report concerning the tax agent that is to be reported under that paragraph.

The tax base of the special land holding tax is the acquisition cost of the land.

In the case of an acquisition of land without compensation or at a significantly low price, or another acquisition of land specified by Cabinet Order as an acquisition in the case where there are 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 the land referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The tax rate of the special land holding tax is 1.4 percent for the special land holding tax imposed on land, and 3 percent for the special land holding tax imposed on the acquisition of land.

A municipality may not impose the special land holding tax where, for the same person, within the area of that municipality (in the case of a city under item (i), the area of the wards or administratively consolidated wards of that city), the total area of land that the person owns on January 1 (excluding land to which Article 586, paragraph (1) or (2), Article 587, paragraph (1), or the main clause of Article 587-2, paragraph (1) applies), in the case of the special land holding tax under Article 599, paragraph (1), item (i), the total area of land that the person acquired within one year before January 1 (excluding land for whose acquisition Article 586, paragraph (1) or (2) or Article 587, paragraph (2) applies; the same applies hereinafter in this Article), in the case of the special land holding tax under item (ii) of that paragraph, or the total area of land that the person acquired within one year before July 1, in the case of the special land holding tax under item (iii) of that paragraph, is less than the area specified in each of the following items according to the classification of areas listed in that item (hereinafter in this Section referred to as the "threshold area").

Area of a ward or an administratively consolidated ward of a city under Article 252-19, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act: 2,000 square meters

Area of a municipality having a city planning area prescribed in Article 5 of the City Planning Act (excluding the area under the preceding item): 5,000 square meters

Area of any other municipality: 10,000 square meters

The amount of the special land holding tax is the amount specified in each of the following items according to the classification listed in that item:

The special land holding tax under Article 599, paragraph (1), item (i): the amount obtained by deducting, from the amount obtained by multiplying the tax base amount under paragraph (2), item (i) of that Article by the tax rate under Article 594, the total of the amounts obtained by multiplying by 1.4 percent the price that is to be the tax base of the fixed assets tax for that fiscal year to be imposed by the municipality under Articles 342 and 343 on the land set forth in that item, up to the limit of the former amount

The special land holding tax under Article 599, paragraph (1), item (ii) or (iii): in each case, the amount obtained by deducting, from the amount obtained by multiplying the tax base amount under Article 599, paragraph (2), item (ii) or (iii) by the tax rate under Article 594, the total of the amounts obtained by multiplying by 4 percent the price that is to be the tax base of the real property acquisition tax to be imposed by the prefecture under Article 73-2 on the acquisition of the land set forth in Article 599, paragraph (2), item (ii) or (iii) (where the amount of that real property acquisition tax has not been finalized by the date listed in Article 599, paragraph (1), item (ii) or (iii), or where Article 585, paragraph (6) applies, the amount specified by Cabinet Order as the price that is to be the tax base of that real property acquisition tax), up to the limit of the former amount