The 2012 tax reform, which was approved by the Diet in March
2012, introduced a reporting requirement for offshore assets.
Starting from January 1, 2014, under the new reporting system, a
permanent resident in Japan whose offshore assets exceed JPY 50
million (or US$500,000 at the exchange rate of JPY 100 equal to
US$1) as of December 31 of the previous year must submit an
Offshore Assets Report Form to the relevant tax office by March 15.
This reporting requirement applies not only to Japanese citizens
but also to non-Japanese citizens who have lived in Japan for more
than five of the past 10 years.
"Offshore assets" means anything that has economic value
and is located outside Japan, including, but not limited to,
movable property, immovable property, loans receivable,
intellectual property, savings, and securities and stock options.
The fair market value or estimated value of each offshore asset as
of December 31 must be reported on the Offshore Assets Report
Form.
Any person who fails to submit the form on time without a
justifiable reason or submits a false form may be subject to
imprisonment of up to one year or a criminal fine of up to JPY
500,000 (this sanction is applicable to forms to be submitted on or
after January 1, 2015). Further, if a form is not submitted on time
or is missing a description of relevant offshore assets, and an
additional tax for deficient returns or for a non-filing or delayed
filing of a tax return is imposed in connection with such offshore
assets, the amount of additional tax will be increased by 5 percent
of the income tax imposed in connection with the offshore
assets.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.