TOKYO - The amount of undeclared income by wealthy people in Japan has reached a record high of 98 billion yen, among the worst offenders being scrap gold wholesalers, breeders and yakiniku restaurants, the National Tax Agency announced on Friday.
"The National Tax Agency annually publishes a ranking of industries with high amounts of undeclared income. This time, the top five are management consultants, scrap gold wholesalers, breeders, yakiniku restaurants, and tile contractors," says Izumi Oguri, Nippon Television Chief Commentator.
"This investigation introduced several instances of high-value tax evasion. Notably, it includes influencers," Oguri continues.
"Influencers who introduce products on social media and receive compensation from companies based on their follower count were cited as cases not declaring part of their income. According to tax accountants, some thought they wouldn't get caught as it's online."
"There are also instances, though not included in this investigation, where women known as 'paid-to-drink' participate in drinking parties for cash, failing to declare income paid by the companies running these matching apps."
"Lack of tax knowledge often leads to non-declaration."
Oguri mentions that "Breeders had cases of not declaring cash sales from pet auctions."
"A tax accountant and former chief examiner of the Tokyo National Tax Bureau, Hiroyuki Sato, analyzes that breeders saw an increase in undeclared income due to higher 'nesting demand' during COVID-19, while bars and hostess clubs have ranked lower due to the pandemic's impact."
