Maezawa from the CEO’s Office here, answering your question as well.
Thank you for your question.
There are all kinds of tax accountants.
Some are so conservative about tax savings that they seem like tax office officials, believing that simply paying the full amount of tax is best for the country.
Others are confident in helping clients reduce their taxes. Some only recommend tax-saving measures that are unquestionably safe. They may not save you much, but they’re safe.
Then there are tax accountants who take advantage of gray areas—interpreting the law in a way that supports their position. Some of them even take cases to court from time to time, arguing over which interpretation is correct.
And, rarely, there are tax accountants who actually advise people on tax evasion. That’s completely illegal.
They know exactly what the tax office looks at and use areas that normally aren’t scrutinized. Sometimes they receive disciplinary action and lose their tax accountant license for several years, but once someone passes a national licensing exam, that qualification remains valid for life. So after a few years, they may return to the profession.
Perhaps the person you’re seeing is someone who takes advantage of gray areas—or someone operating completely illegally.
If you received a gift, you are required to report it.
Paying taxes is a citizen’s duty.
However, he may simply be someone who knows that the tax office won’t bother investigating an amount this small. There is still a possibility of being charged additional taxes later, but if you’re prepared to accept that risk, trusting the man you’re seeing could be an option.
That said, the basic rule is to report any gifts you receive and pay the appropriate taxes.
I’m D.◎Yume, a male member.
> Simply calculating it out, that would be around 3–4 million yen a year.
That’s kind of a gray-area amount, haha.
With the tax office probably busy dealing with COVID and everything else, would they really check one individual’s bank account? I’m not sure they would...
It might be a good idea to consult a tax accountant if the tax office does come knocking. After all, that’s their area of expertise—and since the income is your own, they’ll probably handle it properly.
I’m Kazu, a male member.
I believe you should report it.
However, filing a report could raise suspicions about the man’s own tax return, depending on the donor’s filing status, and potentially lead to a tax audit. If a tax audit of the tax accountant reveals tax evasion, I imagine they could face disciplinary action.
Ultimately, it’s a matter of that man’s ethics. Dating involving an allowance is immoral too, but a tax accountant who advises someone to evade taxes is also acting unethically. There are tax accountants whose selling point is that they provide advice on tax evasion or aggressive tax savings.
Just because you failed to report around ¥3–4 million a year doesn’t necessarily mean the tax office will discover it immediately. The tax on a ¥4 million gift would be (4,000,000 − 1,100,000) × 15% = ¥435,000, and the additional penalty for failure to file would be ¥435,000 × 15% = ¥65,000, for a total of roughly ¥500,000. The tax office probably wouldn’t go out of its way to look for an amount of that size.
That said, tax authorities often focus on whatever is currently trending, identify people who haven’t filed, investigate them, and assess taxes accordingly. Online auctions and cryptocurrency are examples. If papa-katsu allowances become a priority for investigation, tax officers may work hard to trace those money flows, and you could be found out.
As I was writing this, I realized that even going back seven years would amount to only ¥3.5 million—an insignificant tax amount from the tax accountant’s perspective. Even if you had filed properly, a tax audit could still result in roughly that amount being assessed due to differences in interpretation or other issues. That may be why they’re telling you that you don’t need to file.
Still, setting the tax amount aside, it’s quite interesting that this tax accountant is willing to commit an unethical act that could constitute grounds for disciplinary action.
Oh, I forgot to calculate the delinquency tax. But I’m too lazy now, so please have your papa calculate it for you（笑）
Incidentally, the more deeply you dig into this, the greater the risk of being assessed an aggravated penalty for tax evasion.
