Out of tragedy often emerges opportunity. In Japan it is manifesting as a lifeline in whichsmall to medium sized business operatorsreeling from the effects of Covid-19 now have a chance at survival. Hope of one day again being viable, indeed even thriving,is made more possible through the granting of a one or two-million-yen subsidyby the Japanese government. What Kinds of Businesses … [Read more...]

With the many and varied effects of the COVID-19 virus beingfelt by Canadians, some are becoming increasingly distressed, almost to the breaking point. A little over a month ago few would have imagined beinglocked away in their homes, unable to work andcompelled to wear protective surgical masks if ever stepping foot outside their homes. Arguably, within the largest swath of the population, … [Read more...]

Answer Yes, the Japanese government has announced a comprehensive one-time ¥100,000 payment to all residents so as to lessen the economic impact from the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. And, furthermore, there are no restrictions regarding age or income on the ¥100,000 per person payout and, notably, it is tax exempt. In order to cover the payment of funds, the government will go, as it has … [Read more...]

Halloween’s over but America’s Internal Revenue Service is Scaring the Hell out of Delinquent Expats! The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is starting to make good on last year’s threat to begin the process of revoking or (or not renewing) U.S. passports as a means to collect unpaid taxes. With Donald Trump now in office, my money is on more stringent enforcement since he seems to … [Read more...]

TOKYO — Until recently, if you were a non-resident working in Japan, you could easily claim all your supposed over-seas dependents. However, the Japanese government has now become wise to the many shenanigans of those claiming outrageous numbers of family members, (sometimes to the tune of 10 to 15 dependents claimed). Until now the tax office has had no way to prove such claims and therefore was … [Read more...]

New Law for January 2016 This month the U.S. Congress is putting into effect a new law that empowers the government to revoke passports of citizens who refuse (or somehow neglect) to pay their taxes. According to various sources, this law also gives the U.S. State Department the right to deny tax scofflaws new passports. If you are in arrears to the tune of $50,000 or more, (including … [Read more...]

With a stroke of his executive pen on July 31 of this year, President Obama marked the end of the filing date discrepancy that had existed with foreign bank account reporting and the filing of income tax returns. In one fell swoop he signed into the law the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act”, which changed the filing due date of several important forms for … [Read more...]

It is no easy ride being a stranger in a strange land, let alone a foreigner who owns assets across multiple tax jurisdictions around the globe. The myriad of differences between various countries’ regulations often causes headaches for those who are faced with complex and often convoluted and confusing inheritance and estate tax issues. For foreigners who call Japan “home,” this certainly can be … [Read more...]

It seems that no American can avoid the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), even if he or she is a resident of Japan. All American expatriates who are living in Japan are required by law to file for taxes, regardless of where they live and even if they think they might not owe as much as a penny. Keep in mind that this does not necessarily mean that all Americans will end up owing money … [Read more...]