Local Tax Act

With respect to fixed assets tax imposed on a house that has been acquired or rebuilt where the owner of a house that was lost or damaged due to an earthquake or other disaster (including, where the house is property in co-ownership, a person holding a share in it) or any other person specified by Cabinet Order has, within an area specified by Cabinet Order, during the period from the date on which the earthquake or other disaster occurred until the day on which four years have elapsed counting from March 31 of the year following the disaster year, acquired a house that the mayor of the municipality finds to replace the lost or damaged house, or rebuilt the damaged house, a municipality is to, limited to fixed assets tax for four fiscal years whose assessment date is January 1 of the year following the year that includes the day on which the house was acquired or rebuilt (where the house was rebuilt two or more times on or after the date on which the earthquake or other disaster occurred, the day on which it was first rebuilt; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) (where the day on which the house was acquired or rebuilt is January 1, that day), as provided by Cabinet Order, reduce from the fixed assets tax amount relating to the house an amount equivalent to one-half of the amount calculated as provided by Cabinet Order as the tax amount relating to the portion, of the fixed assets tax amount relating to the house, to which this Article applies (where the house is a building held in unit ownership or property in co-ownership, the aggregate of the amounts calculated as provided by Cabinet Order for each unit owner or each co-owner as the tax amount relating to the portion to which this Article applies).

A municipal tax collection official, fixed asset valuer or assistant fixed asset valuer may, if necessary for an investigation concerning the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax, question the following persons, inspect books and documents relating to the business of the persons set out in items (i) through (iii) (including, where electronic or magnetic records (meaning records made in an 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 place of making or keeping them, those electronic or magnetic records; the same applies in Article 354, paragraph (1), items (i) and (ii), Article 396, paragraph (1), Article 396-2, paragraph (1), item (vi), and Article 397, paragraph (1), items (i) and (ii)) 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 be under an obligation to give money or goods to the person set out in the preceding item;

a person found to have delivered a house owned by the person set out in item (i) to that person;

a person other than those set out in the preceding three items who is found to be directly related to the assessment and collection of the fixed assets tax.

A successor corporation in a company split in a split in which the person set out in item (i) of the preceding paragraph is the splitting corporation (meaning a corporation that has transferred its assets and liabilities by a split; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph and Article 396, paragraph (2)), and a splitting corporation in a split in which the person set out in that item is the successor corporation in a company split (meaning a corporation that has received a transfer of assets and liabilities from a splitting corporation by a split; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph and Article 396, paragraph (2)), are included among the persons found to be under an obligation to give money or goods prescribed in item (ii) of the preceding paragraph.

In the case of paragraph (1), the tax collection official, fixed asset valuer or assistant fixed asset valuer must carry a certificate proving his or her identity and must present it when requested by a person concerned.

A municipal tax collection official, fixed asset valuer or assistant fixed asset valuer may, as provided by Cabinet Order, retain the articles submitted under paragraph (1).

An investigation concerning a delinquent tax collection procedure relating to fixed assets tax is, notwithstanding paragraph (1), governed by Article 373, paragraph (7).

The authority of a municipal tax collection official, fixed asset valuer or assistant fixed asset valuer under paragraph (1) or paragraph (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;

if the person gives no answer, or gives a false answer, to a question by the tax collection official, fixed asset valuer or assistant fixed asset valuer under the provisions of the preceding Article.

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 the mayor of the municipality, for the assessment and collection of fixed assets tax, requests the government to allow inspection or recording of a return or amended return that a person liable for fixed assets tax who has tax liability for income tax or corporation tax submitted to the government, or of documents relating to a reassessment or determination that the government made with respect to the tax base or tax amount of the income tax or corporation tax of that person liable for tax, the government is to have the mayor of the municipality or a staff member designated by the mayor inspect or record the relevant documents.

A person liable for fixed assets tax who has no domicile, residence, office or place of business (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as "address, etc.") in the municipality in which the person has tax liability 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 an area specified by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality and report this to the mayor of the municipality, or apply to the mayor of the municipality for approval to appoint as tax agent a person who has a address, etc. outside that area and is in a convenient position to handle those matters, and obtain that approval. The same applies where the 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 and obtained certification that there is no impediment to securing the collection of fixed assets tax relating to the 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 in a Municipal Ordinance of the municipality to impose a non-penal fine of not more than 100,000 yen on a person liable for fixed assets tax who has not obtained certification under Article 355, paragraph (2) and has not obtained approval under paragraph (1) of that Article, and who, without justifiable grounds, has failed to report a tax agent that must be reported under Article 355, paragraph (1).

If a person evades all or part of fixed assets tax by deception or other wrongful acts, the person who committed the violation is to be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine of not more than 1,000,000 yen, or both.

Where the amount of tax evaded as referred to in the preceding paragraph exceeds 1,000,000 yen, the amount of the fine referred to in that paragraph may, in light of the circumstances, notwithstanding the provisions of that paragraph, be an amount exceeding 1,000,000 yen and not exceeding the amount equivalent to the amount of tax evaded.

In addition to what is prescribed in paragraph (1), if a person evades all or part of fixed assets tax by failing to report matters that must be reported under the provisions of Article 383, Article 384 or Article 394, the person who committed the violation is to be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen, or both.

Where the amount of tax evaded as referred to in the preceding paragraph exceeds 500,000 yen, the amount of the fine referred to in that paragraph may, in light of the circumstances, notwithstanding the provisions of that paragraph, be an amount exceeding 500,000 yen and not exceeding the amount equivalent to the amount of tax evaded.

Where a representative of a corporation, or an agent, employee or other worker of a corporation or a person, has committed a violation under paragraph (1) or (3) in connection with the business or property of that corporation or person, in addition to punishing the offender, the fines prescribed in those paragraphs are to be imposed on that corporation or person.

In the case where a fine is imposed on a corporation or individual for a violation referred to in paragraph (1) under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the period of prescription is the same as that for the offense referred to in paragraph (1).

The assessment date of fixed assets tax is January 1 of the year that includes the first day of the relevant fiscal year.

The payment periods of fixed assets tax are specified by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, within April, July, December and February; provided, however, that if there are special circumstances, different payment periods may be specified.

For fixed assets tax whose fixed assets tax amount (where city planning tax is collected together under Article 364, paragraph (10), the total of the fixed assets tax amount and the city planning tax amount) is not more than the amount specified by Municipal Ordinance of the municipality, the municipality may collect the whole amount in any one of the payment periods specified under the preceding paragraph.