Japan Master Tax Guide 2012/13 (10th edition)

The Japan Master Tax Guide 2012/2013 provides an informative framework of Japanese taxes in English and includes insightful commentary on the Japanese tax statutes, regulations and National Tax Agency circulars. Using non-technical language and illustrative examples, flowcharts and exhaustive citations to Japanese laws and regulations, it allows non-Japanese tax practitioners to gain a deeper understanding of the Japanese tax laws. With abundant citations to the underlying authorities and with Japanese translations provided for topic headings and technical terms the Japan Master Tax Guide 2012/2013 is also useful to English-speaking Japanese tax professionals.  The tenth edition of the Japan Master Tax Guide (2012/2013) has been updated to reflect the legislation promulgated and pending through 30 May 2012.

Important Changes in new 2012/2013 Edition:

This 10 ^th  edition of the Japan Master Tax Guide has been updated to reflect the tax changes arising from the proposed 2012 Tax Reform Act, and the legislation promulgated through 30 May 2012 and pending legislation.

Social security, the largest fiscal expenditure item in the Japanese budget is increasingly important due to the anticipated growth in this expenditure resulting from the aging population in the country. The financial risks associated with the European debt crisis have raised market concerns worldwide. Amidst these circumstances, a definite plan was drawn up in Japan in June 2011 to address a joint reform of the taxation and social security systems. The 2012 Tax Reform Bill passed by the Diet on 30 March, 2012 reflects an effort to realize the goal towards significantly reforming the tax system in the light of these issues.

Under the 2012 Tax Reform Act, the Law to Partially Revise the Special Taxation Measures Law , Law No 16 of 2012, 31 March, 2012, persons earning higher income are expected to be paying more tax as a result of limits on the employment income deduction and less liberal exclusion rules for retirement income of directors. The 2012 Act also introduces Earnings Stripping Rules posed to take effect for tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2013.  The Earnings Stripping Rules limit the amount of allowable deductions for net interest paid by a corporation on debt to a related person if the net interest paid exceeds 50% of the payor’s adjusted taxable income. These new rules are intended to supplement the thin capitalisation and transfer pricing rules in addressing the problem of taxpayers moving income out of Japan. The 2012 legislation also addresses issues that include replacement of place of residence, the carry forward of loss resulting from the sale of a place of residence, and the carrying back of net losses by corporations.

Legislation enacted late in 2011 includes the Law to Revise the Income Tax, etc, in Order to Construct a Tax System Addressing Changes in the Socio-Economic Structure , Law No 114 of 2011, 2 December 2011 which contains reductions in the rate of corporate tax.  However, at the same time a measure was enacted to impose a 10% surtax known as the Special Reconstruction Corporation Tax which will be added to the corporation tax for three years beginning in April 2012.

Key Benefits

♦Explanations and synopsis of the Japanese tax system and the major laws and regulations in clear English
♦Easy to use tables, including up-to-date withholding tax tables reflecting the latest tax law changes

Key Feature

♦Easy to read
♦Headings in Kanji characters
♦Provides information on tax compliance requirements
♦Detailed references to the original Japanese statutes and regulations
♦English translation of commonly-used forms