GISDepartment of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies

Taxation plays a crucial role in the functioning of the modern state. Tax revenues pay for public services, e.g., education, roads, defense, welfare, water supply and so on. People cannot live a healthy and cultured life without public services funded by tax revenues. In this course, we study such taxation in Japan.

In the first half of this course students will study the basics of taxation from various angles; 1) what is the history of taxation? 2) what is the structure of taxation? 3) what type of taxes do we have? 4) who bears the burden of tax? Then, in the latter half of this course, with the basic knowledge acquired so far, they will study the real social issues involved in taxation, which include; 1) what is the difference between the tax evasion and the tax avoidance? 2) what is the qualified invoice system for consumption tax that the government plans to introduce from October 2023? 3) what is “the 100-million-yen wall” problem?

The lecturer will explain the above items from the general point of view and in a simple and easy manner. Students will also study the basic terminology and mechanics of how corporate and personal taxation is calculated for a basic understanding of taxation.

By the end of this course, students should have a fundamental mastery of:

a.Basic structure of Japanese taxation systems
b.History of Japanese taxation vis-a-vis other countries
c.Current issues surrounding Japanese taxation
d.Global issues surrounding taxation

The knowledge they acquire through this course will help them to develop the ability to identify and solve social problems they may encounter, and provides the means to solve them.

Will be able to gain “DP 1”, “DP 2” and “DP 4”.

英語 / English

During the course, each class is composed of a partial lecture on key concepts and in-class exercises including quizzes, small group discussions and class presentations to help students learn and apply the concepts. Students will obtain feedback through Hoppii when they submit their work.

あり / Yes

なし / No

授業形態/methods of teaching：対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[オンライン/online]：History of Taxation

Students will learn the brief global history of taxation from the earliest taxes in Mesopotamia to the present day taxation. Also, they will discuss the history of taxation in Japan, focusing on how it has changed after World War II. Through this study, they will learn the meaning of taxes to us, i.e., “Is tax for us an obligation, a donation, a right, or a membership fee?”

2[対面/face to face]：Overview of Taxation in Japan

Students will look at the overall picture of Japanese taxation. The items to be learnt are; 1) the underlying principles of taxation 2) the type of tax 3) the structure of taxation 4) historical trend of national revenues and expenditures. 5) Japan's tax burden ratio in comparison with other countries.

3[対面/face to face]：Formal and Effective Incidence of Tax

Students will study who bears the tax burden from legal and economic standpoints. The economic perspective of taxation distinguishes "formal" and "effective" (or economic) incidences of tax. While formal incidence is a matter of who is legally liable to pay tax, effective incidence concerns the more fundamental question of who ultimately bears the burden of tax from a micro economic view point.

4[対面/face to face]：Introduction to Income Tax

Students will study income tax (所得税). There are 10 types of income subject to income tax, which are wage income, interest income, dividend income, etc. We will briefly look at how to calculate tax for each income. Then, two tax return filing processes will be explained, which are; 1) the tax return by a company employee, and 2) the tax return by a sole proprietorship (個人事業主）.

5[対面/face to face]：Introduction to Corporate Tax

Students will study corporate tax (法人税). The items to be covered are; 1) what kind of tax is corporate tax? 2) who is legally liable for corporate tax? 3) what is corporate tax levied on? 4) Is the Japan’s statutory tax rate competitive with other countries? 5) what is the tax return filing process?

6[対面/face to face]：Introduction to Consumption Tax

Students will study the general consumption tax (一般消費税）. The items to be covered are; 1) what is this tax? 2) what is the history of this tax? 3) Who is liable for this tax, and who pays it to the government? 4) what are tax exempt businesses (免税事業）?

7[対面/face to face]：Introduction to Inheritance Tax and Other Tax-related Topics

Students will study inheritance tax (相続税）and other tax related topics. The other tax related topics include 1) tax audits by the national tax agency (国税局による税務調査）2) tax accountant qualification （税理士資格）3) the "Furusato" tax (ふるさと納税).

8[対面/face to face]：Review and Mid-term Examination

Review and in-class written examination.

9[対面/face to face]：Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (1)

Tax evasion （脱税）is an illegal act that is against the law. On the other hand, tax avoidance (節税）is legal as long as it is done within the limits of the law. However, there are times when the line between tax evasion and tax avoidance is vague. Using a simple case of a tax return filing (税務申告）by a small family corporation, we will confirm the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance.

10[対面/face to face]：Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (2)

The content of the class is the same as class #9. In this class, our focus will shift from a domestic small corporation to a large corporation which is running its business globally. The points to be covered are what it is doing to reduce the amount of tax it has to pay within legal means. Similar to class #9, a simple case will be used to understand the tax planning activities by a global corporation.

11[対面/face to face]：Invoice System for Consumption Tax

Effective October 1, 2023, the invoice system will be introduced for the general consumption tax (一般消費税. The implementation of the invoice system puts tax exempt businesses (免税事業）at a financial disadvantage. Thus, tax-exempt businesses have been campaigning against it for the past two years. In this class, in the context of the history of the consumption tax, we will learn why this causes such an opposition movement.

12[対面/face to face]：The Wealth Disparity and Tax

Globally, the gap between rich and poor is widening. As Thomas Piketty, a French economist, points out, this disparity is expected to widen further in the future. With this trend, we will look at the situation in Japan, and think about the way to narrow the gap through taxation.

13[対面/face to face]：Discussion and Review.

We will review the contents learnt in the classes, and wrap up the important points through discussion before the final examination.

14[対面/face to face]：Final Examination and Wrap-up.

Wrap-up and in-class written examination.

a. Readings – Students are expected to read the reading materials carefully and to prepare for lectures.

b. Short assignments – Students are at times given assignments to strengthen their understanding of the application of the concepts. They are expected to hand in their homework in the following class. In the case of absence, they must hand in homework during the next class.

c. Case study analysis – Students form small groups to make a presentation on a case study based on specific theories or concepts discussed in class. Specific guidelines will be given in class.

Preparatory study and review time for each class is two hours each.

No textbooks will be used. Handouts and reading materials will be provided by the lecturer.

Smith, Stephen (2011), Taxation: A Very Short Introduction. London: OXFORD
Hama, Yuko (2020), Why do people pay taxes? Tokyo: Toyo Keizai Shinpo-sha
Piketty, Thomas (2014), Capital in the 21st Century. London: Harvard University Press
Scheve, Kenneth (2016), Taxing the Rich. New Jersey: Princeton University Press

a. Attitude 10%
b. Assignments 15%*
c. Case Study Analysis 15%
d. Mid-term Examination 30%
e. Final Examination 30%

*The two lowest graded assignments are not included into the calculation of the final grade.

Not applicable.

None.

My business experience at international companies will be taught in part in class.

None.