Not Remitting Employment Taxes Doesn’t Work in Japan Either

In the United States, one of the quickest ways of getting in tax trouble is by withholding employment taxes and not remitting those taxes to the IRS. The rate of investigation is as close to 100% as you can get–and it’s normally a criminal investigation. It appears the same holds true in Japan. This story has a second component: There’s something about strip clubs–err, adult entertainment facilities, that make them hotbeds for tax evasion.

From Osaka, Japan comes the story of Naoko Hayashi. The 52-year-old former manager of the Jumeirah hostess club has been indicted and charged with not remitting 57.7 million yen ($464,000) out of 83.2 million yen ($669,000) withheld from pay of the hostesses working in the club. The article in the Tokyo Reporter notes that it costs a minimum of 50,000 yen ($402) to enter the club.

Among the problems with not remitting withholding tax is that it’s a crime that’s fairly trivial to prove. The payroll records will show the withholding, and the National Tax Agency and the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau won’t show the withholding. It’s also a crime that is guaranteed to show up: When the hostesses file their tax returns and claim the withholding the tax agency won’t see it. But it appears the Bozo tax contingent is equally active in Japan as in the United States.

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