Posted by samfoley , 2 replies

I have been living in Japan for 11 years and have been sending money back to the USA throughout my time here. Since I sent over 20,000 dollars, I was flagged by their tax office. They are wanting to know where the money went and where it was invested. As a US citizen, do they have the authority to pursue me for taxes in my native country? As a side note, I am on a permanent VISA here in Japan, and my wife is a Japanese national. Any help or clarification on this matter would be a big help.

Thanks,
Sam

2 replies
George

Sam,

There is a long thread on GaijinPot Forums which I think covers what you’re asking about:

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?93481-Be-wary-of-your-i…

As the opening post states:

“the tax agency have become very vigilant in tracking money being sent out of Japan” and “Somewhat large amounts sent will trigger a report to the agency. Frequent transfers will also trigger a report. If you have been here for a day over 5 years you will be viewed as a resident of Japan for tax purposes. It could be less, too, depending on individual circumstances.”

The last part seems to be particularly applicable, as you state you’ve been in Japan for 11 years so it’s most likely that the Japanese tax authorities view you as resident for tax purposes, therefore as they expect all worldwide income to be reported they are probably trying to track down what you’ve been doing with this money.

If you look at the chart on page 4 of the 2012 Income tax guide for foreigners written by the National Tax Agency JAPAN it shows the rules they use to judge what they need to know about and when taxes should be collected:

http://www.nta.go.jp/tetsuzuki/shinkoku/shotoku/tebiki2012/pdf/43…

Hope this helps,

George
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GUEST

Do this Sam…. research the US Supreme court decision of 189? ( sorry i forgot the year) and 1920 about legality of income taxes. You will find that they decided that income taxes are not legal as far as our constitution and then they created the 16th amendment and i think in 1973 again the US Supreme court rulled that this amendment still does not give our govt the right to our income in the form of taxes. Hope this helps you and many other Americans who have been bullied by the IRS!