外国人暮らしのQ&A「 税金滞納の差し押え」

Q:

I've been late paying taxes to the city I'm living in, and now the city office wants me to pay 40,000 Yen a month. I said that I could manage paying 20,000 Yen a month until the end of the year, but the city says that if I don't pay 40,000 Yen a month, they'll seize it directly from my wages. Can they really do that? I have a large family, and life could get tough if I have to pay 40,000 Yen a month.

A:

The period within which one must pay taxes owed to the municipal government is fixed. If an individual does not pay their taxes within the designated period, a demand for payment (tokusoku / 督促) is made and disposition for failure to pay (tainō shobun / 滞納処分) carried out in accordance with the law. This may entail the seizure (sashiosae / 差し押え, also 差押) of the non-payer's assets (zaisan / 財産). One's wages are also categorized as seizable assets.

In the case of general claims, assets may be seized with a court-issued seizure order (sashiosae meirei / 差押命令), but when wages are to be seized, up to three quarters of the after-tax amount is protected from seizure in principle, under Article 152 of the Civil Execution Act (minji shikkō-hō / 民事執行法). The maximum amount of the amount that is protected from seizure is stipulated by cabinet order.

However, when seizure is for taxes, the amount protected from seizure is designated under separate laws (National Tax Collection Act [kokuzei chōshu-hō / 国税徴収法], Article 76; Local Tax Act [chihōzei-hō / 地方税法], Article 331) and calculated according to those laws, so it is not simply the case that three quarters of one's wages will be protected. The amount that can be seized will vary depending on individual circumstances.

When seizing an individual's wages for unpaid taxes, the following is calculated: ①The amount of income tax, local government taxes, social insurance contributions deducted from the individual's wages; ②100,000 Yen per month as living expenses for the individual concerned, and 45,000 Yen each for the individual's spouse and / or other dependents; ③The equivalent of 20% of the amount of wages remaining after the total of ① and ② are subtracted from the individual's wages (up to twice the total of ① and ②); The combined total of ①, ② and ③ cannot be seized.

According to the law, a municipal government is able to forcibly carry out the seizure of assets, without a court-issued seizure order, by following a designated procedure such as issuing a demand for payment. We suggest that you consult your municipal office again and confirm the amount you are liable to have seized, and carefully consider your options.

In addition, please bear in mind that wages transferred to one's bank account may not be considered as 'wages' after the transfer, and as such the amount to be protected from seizure may not come into consideration.

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