As Japan eyes duty-free revamp, huge tax evasions in 9 cases highlighted

What's so difficult? Item needs to sealed in factory packaging and shown at airport tax counter.

Why was there no time? These people broke the law they should miss their flights.

340 million yen in tax from nine visitors

That will be more than 30 million yen in tax per visitors, how much they really spend in shoping?

How pathetic are these people. They couldn't run a bath.

Time to scrap the system and pocket the tax. There's an enormous national debt to service that money should go towards.

The nine did not have the items, including luxury watches and brand bags, worth a combined 3.4 billion yen, with them at the time of their departure.

sakurasukiToday 04:56 pm JST

340 million yen in tax from nine visitors

That will be more than 30 million yen in tax per visitors, how much they really spend in shoping?

Interesting maths and I will take it a little further. Actually 340 million divided by 9 is 37 million.

That 37 million is the unpaid consumption tax of goods purchased. 8% for food items and 10% for non food items. If we round that off to 10% because the article does not tell us what was purchased (food or non-food)

we end up with each of these 9 people purchasing 370 million in goods.

That is US $2,460,000 at the 150 yen rate.

I never understood those tax-free or duty-free kind of shopping. Especially during those times when the Japanese currency is on one of it's lowest points in the past 30-40 years. Tourists have more money that Japanese people, also for them, the products are way cheaper in Japan than their countries. Why do you need to loose money cutting the tax from those products too? They can afford it, and besides, the foreign tourists are using the same facilities as the locals here in Japan, including transportation, roads, garbage, sewage, etc ,etc.

Why do you need to exempt them from the taxes?

@garymalmgren

That is US $2,460,000 at the 150 yen rate.

That's lot!

Just get rid of consumption tax!

There are good reasons for keeping tax-free shopping (encouraging tourism, etc) but this sort of fraud is down to bureaucratic stupidity. Why doesn't the ministry concerned study how it's done elsewhere (Europe, Australia, UK etc)? Just set up a system to show goods (or evidence of export) as you leave the country. And for preference only allow the claim to be processed after you're through emigration. Wakey wakey, it would be such a quick win. There will always be people who want to play the system, but current enforcement practice is just sloppy.

Anyone with common sense can guess that at least one those 9 persons were known to some of the politicians in charge of that public scam...

Japan and its croonies.