Article 314-7Tax Credit for Donations

①Where a person liable for the income levy has paid, in the previous year, the donations listed below and the total amount of those donations (or, where that total exceeds the amount equivalent to 30 percent of the total of the gross income, the amount of retirement income and the amount of timber income for the previous year, the amount equivalent to that 30 percent) exceeds 2,000 yen, a municipality is to deduct the amount equivalent to six percent (or eight percent, where that person liable for tax has a domicile within the area of a designated city) of the excess amount (or, where that person liable for tax has paid donations eligible for the special deduction in the previous year and the total amount of those donations eligible for the special deduction exceeds 2,000 yen, the amount obtained by adding the amount of special deduction to the amount equivalent to that six percent (or eight percent, where that person liable for tax has a domicile within the area of a designated city); referred to as the "amount of deduction" in this paragraph) from the amount of the income levy of that person liable for tax when Article 314-3 and the preceding Article are applied. In this case, where the amount of deduction exceeds the amount of the income levy, the amount of deduction is to be the amount equivalent to the amount of the income levy.

②The "donation eligible for the special deduction" in the preceding paragraph means a donation listed in item (i) of that paragraph (referred to as an "item 1 donation" in this Article) that is made to a prefecture, etc. designated by the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications as found to conform to the standards listed in items (i), (ii), (v) and (vi) (or the standards listed below, where the prefecture, etc. provides return gifts, etc. (meaning goods, services and the like that the prefecture, etc. provides, upon receipt of an item 1 donation, to the person who paid that item 1 donation, as specified by the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications; the same applies in items (iii) and (iv))) throughout the period specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as the period subject to designation under this paragraph (referred to as "designation" in this Article) (referred to as the "designation period" in item (ii), (a) and item (v)).

③A prefecture, etc. seeking designation must, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, submit to the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications a written request stating the matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications concerning conformity to the standards prescribed in the preceding paragraph, together with other documents specified by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

④The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications may request a prefecture, etc. that has been designated to report on the status of implementation of solicitation of item 1 donations and other necessary matters.

⑤The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications may revoke the designation where the Minister finds that a prefecture, etc. that has been designated has ceased to conform, or had not conformed, to any of the standards prescribed in paragraph (2), or where it has failed to make the report under the preceding paragraph or has made a false report.

⑥When revoking a designation under the preceding paragraph, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications must make a decision, in respect of the prefecture, etc. subject to the revocation of designation, not to grant designation for a period fixed within three years. In this case, the prefecture, etc. subject to revocation of designation may not receive designation until that period has elapsed, counting from the date of revocation of designation.

⑦When the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications has granted a designation or revoked a designation, the Minister must give public notice to that effect without delay.

⑧The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications must hear the opinion of the Local Finance Council regarding the establishment, change or abolition of the standards prescribed in paragraph (2) or of the stipulations under that paragraph, designation or revocation of designation, and the decision prescribed in paragraph (6).

⑨In the case of paragraph (1), whether a donation is a donation eligible for the special deduction prescribed in paragraph (2) (referred to as a "donation eligible for the special deduction" in paragraph (11)) is determined by whether the prefecture, etc. that received the item 1 donation was designated at the time when the person liable for the income levy paid the item 1 donation.

⑩In addition to what is prescribed in paragraphs (2) through (8), matters necessary for designation and revocation of designation are specified by Cabinet Order.

⑪The amount of special deduction in paragraph (1) is the amount equivalent to three-fifths (or four-fifths, where that person liable for tax has a domicile within the area of a designated city) of the amount obtained by multiplying the portion exceeding 2,000 yen of the total amount of donations eligible for the special deduction paid in the previous year by the person liable for the income levy under that paragraph by the ratio provided in the following items according to the classification of cases listed in those items (or, where that amount exceeds the amount equivalent to 20 percent of the amount of the income levy of that person liable for tax when Article 314-3 and the preceding Article are applied, the amount equivalent to that 20 percent).

⑫The stipulation of a Municipal Ordinance under paragraph (1), item (iv) is to be made where there has been a request from the specified non-profit corporation that receives the donation (referred to as a "deduction-eligible specified non-profit corporation" in this Article) and it is found appropriate, and that Municipal Ordinance must make clear the name and the location of the principal office of that deduction-eligible specified non-profit corporation.

⑬A deduction-eligible specified non-profit corporation must, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, keep and preserve a donor register (meaning a document stating, for each payer of the donations received by that corporation in each business year, the name or appellation of the payer, the payer's address or the location of the payer's office, the amount of the donation and the date of receipt; the same applies in the following paragraph).

⑭When the mayor of the municipality finds it necessary for calculating the amount to be deducted under paragraph (1) (limited to the portion relating to the donations listed in item (iv)), the mayor may have a deduction-eligible specified non-profit corporation make a report on its receipt of the donations listed in that item, or submit a donor register or other materials.