How can I avoid double taxation in Japan?

When do Japanese corporations file tax returns?

What is Japan’s consumption tax?

Are activities conducted by a representative office in Japan subject to Japan taxes?

Do corporations have to pay any tax even when they do not generate income?

What type of corporate income taxes are there in Japan?

The following domestic and import transactions, except for certain transactions deemed non-taxable, are subject to consumption tax. 1 Domestic transactions: the transfer or rental/lease of assets or the provision of services as a business in Japan by an enterprise for consideration2 Import transactions: cargo retrieved from a bonded zone Enterprises engaged in domestic transactions (excluding enterprises that are exempt from consumption tax) and parties engaged in import transactions must file and pay consumption tax on their taxable bases by the methods and procedures respectively provided for them. (If the amount of consumption tax on the taxable base of an enterprise (unless a tax-exempt enterprise) is less than the amount of […]

Tax return forms for corporations come in two formats: white forms and blue forms. A corporation may file a blue form tax return with approval from the appropriate national tax office. Corporations filing blue form tax returns enjoy a variety of tax benefits. To receive approval from the tax office to file a blue form tax return, a corporation must submit an application for approval prepared in the prescribed format no later than the day prior to the starting day of the taxable year. Newly established subsidiary companies and foreign corporations establishing new branch offices in Japan must submit the application for approval no later than the day prior to […]

Corporations must file a final tax return for such as corporate tax, corporate inhabitant tax and enterprise tax on their income within two months from the day following the last day of each taxable year. However, an extension of the deadline for filing a final tax return may be requested, with approval from the director of the taxation office, when a corporation is unable to file a final tax return because the accounting auditor has not completed the audit or because accounts remain unsettled for other unavoidable reasons. The income and tax amounts to be entered in the final tax return must be calculated in accordance with the statement of […]

Net losses under income in each business year are carried forward for certain years. Losses may only be carried forward in this way if a blue form tax return is filed for the business year in which the loss arose, and a final tax return is then filed every subsequent year. Note that if a corporation, for example, is a wholly owned subsidiary of a large corporation, the amount of loss that may be deducted from income cannot exceed certain percentage of income. Other corporations, such as prescribed small and medium-sized enterprises that file a blue return, are also allowed to carry back a loss to the business year commencing […]