Attempts to smuggle gold into Japan have been soaring. Photo: WIKIPEDIA
crime

Japan considers stricter penalties for gold smugglers

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Heathrow makes everyone go through a metal detector, then if like me you have a stent, you have to go through the full-body X-ray scan too. I elected for the pat-down a couple of years ago so two members of staff eventually turned up and took me to a small room with a stand and a pair of handlebars. They put on rubber gloves, so I said "do what you have to, but I am not going through the X-ray". Ultimately they relented and filled in their paperwork, but I thought, "what a hassle!"

So kurispusu, you are saying I could have been carrying a bar of gold then?

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Cheers, englisc!

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What countries allow passengers to bypass security checks like this?\

I fly out of the USA all the time without going through any scanners. Opt for the pat-down and there are parts which aren't checked. Unlike other countries, I've never felt "groped" during the US pat downs.

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@wtf. 200000 Japanese fishing boats operating all hours.

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lucabrasiNov. 8 10:34 pm JST

@fxgai

No sales tax (we call it VAT) on gold in the UK.

But there is on silver (20%).

Strange....

Silver is also an industrial metal, a large percentage (I can't remember the exact figures) is used for a wide range of applications, including medical. Ergo the difference in tax treatments.

Gold is subject to CGT (capital gains tax) unless you buy sovereigns which are legal tender and so money and not subject to tax.

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Governments are not happy unless they get their cut of every transaction made. It is a legalized mafia per se. In this case however, bringing in such large volumes of gold with the intent to defraud (as the buyer is paying tax to the smuggler that is never paid to the government). I agree that this is in fact a crime as the purchaser of the gold is being made to pay an 8% premium to the smuggler.

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Haha, this brings a whole new meaning to kintama LOL!!!

Yeah women with balls!

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OMG! What kind of under would support 30kg?!

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@fxgai

No sales tax (we call it VAT) on gold in the UK.

But there is on silver (20%).

Strange....

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Actually, it is possible to make a profit by legally bringing in up to a kilo of gold without paying tax. I often do so.....

Is that really legal?

I thought it was by market value rather by weight. I suspect 1kg may be in excess of the limit at today’s prices.

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So how exactly does this work? You sell gold in Japan and also get 8% sales tax. Why is that?

When you buy gold here, consumption tax is included in the price.

When you sell it, the buyer pays you consumption tax on the sale.

I believe the initial purchase tax is supposed to go to the government coffers, and the cost is essentially supposed to pass through to the final end ‘user’.

But as smugglers never bought it here in the first place, but overseas in places where the tax does not apply, then they only paid market price, but receive consumption tax on top of it when they sell on.

Another legal way to use this is to buy gold before the next consumption tax hike, and sell it after. You keep the difference in the before and after rates. So long as market moves don’t cancel that out difference in the before/after rates. For smugglers though, the higher consumption tax rate goes, the higher the incentive to smuggle.

If you bring in lets say euros or dollars and sell that in Japan you're not getting any sales tax added.

Money versus non-money I guess.

This is just a stupid rule set up by gov't and people are taking advantage of it.

Yes indeed. No consumption tax on gold = no incentive to smuggle = no smuggling = no need to worry about enforcement. Not sure who the victims are in all this...

I guess it is tricky because if you do turn your gold into jewelry then yes you are consuming it, rather than using it as a vehicle for speculation or as money. And people would complain about ‘luxury’ gold jewelry products being exempt from consumption tax...

Curious about how this is dealt with in other countries with flat rate sales taxes.

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By jolly, that must be strong underwear

lol. Didn’t say the underwear was ON them, though.

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Treat gold as money, which it is (and a lot safer then fiat currency backed by nothing safer than a politicians promise!), no tax, no profit, no problem.

But no the government pen pushing parasites must add complication and "punish" the populous for their error.

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Last December, three women flying from South Korea to Japan were caught trying to smuggle gold bars weighing 30 kilograms by hiding them in underwear.

Haha, this brings a whole new meaning to kintama LOL!!!

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Actually, it is possible to make a profit by legally bringing in up to a kilo of gold without paying tax. I often do so.....

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How are people able to fly to Japan with even a single gram of gold in their underwear?

What countries allow passengers to bypass security checks like this?

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So how exactly does this work? You sell gold in Japan and also get 8% sales tax? Why is that? If you bring in lets say euros or dollars and sell that in Japan you're not getting any sales tax added. This is just a stupid rule set up by gov't and people are taking advantage of it.

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actually most of it would be coming by boat, eg Korean fishing boat has a short rendezvous with a Japanese fishing boat, J fishing boat comes home to off load its fish and gold hidden within. How many J fishing boats would get pulled over and inspected by J customs!? very few id say

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three women flying from South Korea to Japan were caught trying to smuggle gold bars weighing 30 kilograms by hiding them in underwear.

By jolly, that must be strong underwear

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yeah like they said just make people walk through metal detectors, problem solved whats the fuss?

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