With the increase in foreign property ownership, the Japanese government is considering taxing the income of overseas residents operating real estate rental or parking businesses in Japan to address tax unfairness. Currently, prefectures in Japan do not have the authority to tax overseas residents; they can only tax those with offices or residences in Japan. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to include this change in the tax reform guidelines for fiscal year 2027, currently being developed by the government and the ruling coalition. The personal business tax rate is approximately 5%, calculated based on the business owner's previous year's business or real estate income, minus a deduction of 2.9 million yen (approximately US$18,420). The aim is to maintain tax fairness. The authority to collect the personal business tax rests with the prefecture where the business is located. While Japanese residents can be taxed based on their place of residence even without a business, overseas residents without a business or residence in Japan are not taxed, leading to a disparity in tax burden.
