Japan's experience in tax debt collection.

Editor's Note:Nghe An Newspaper is pleased to publish an article by Mr. Nguyen Hong Hai, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Tax Department, on his visit and study trip to Japan.

(Baonghean) - The Japanese government and Ministry of Finance do not allocate tax revenue targets to the General Directorate of Taxation. The tax system is organized by region and is not affected by administrative boundaries. Tax collection is based solely on tax laws and the actual results of production, business, and income of Japanese citizens.

Japan's current tax collection policies and system have been maintained (and reformed) for nearly 119 years. The law grants tax officials full authority to collect taxes according to "traditional Japanese culture." Therefore, Japanese tax administration also reflects Japanese cultural characteristics: very advanced yet very conservative and traditional; very scientific yet accepting of some less scientific processes; very democratic yet very decisive and "authoritarian" when dealing with those who do not comply with tax laws.

According to information from your side, a few years ago, the tax debt situation in Japan was even more serious than in Vietnam today, with many businesses owing large amounts of overdue taxes that were uncollectible. However, they have implemented "typical Japanese" measures decisively, and now tax evasion and large tax debts are virtually nonexistent.

With a tax sector workforce nearly equal to ours, they have relatively good solutions to effectively manage taxes. For example, they concentrate their human resources on managing taxes for businesses, with very strict regulations on what level of business requires the establishment of a company... They advocate for "letting go" of individual business households by promoting and supporting them to self-declare and pay taxes. According to information from their side, there is some revenue loss in this area, but it is not significant compared to the national average.

The tax authorities only take strict, typical "Japanese" measures as a deterrent when violations are detected through the national data system or when complaints or denunciations are filed. To investigate this issue, we visited three sporting goods stores and tested them using tax procedures: "I am a foreign tourist, I don't need a sales receipt, can you give me a further discount?" They replied: "Whether you take a receipt or not is irrelevant! If you want a refund of the 8% consumption tax (similar to VAT in our country), you can't get a discount because we have to enter all the sales information into the computer. If you want a discount, you have to pay in cash and we won't process the consumption tax refund." I asked how much of a discount they could offer, and they replied 20%.

The interpreter quickly introduced me as someone from Vietnam studying tax collection in Japan. Suddenly, I noticed their expressions changed; they said they didn't like befriending tax officials. This person complained, recounting how "cruel" Japanese tax officials are, saying that those who are late in paying taxes have their homes searched and assets confiscated. While police and prosecutors search homes and arrest people, and after serving their sentences, they still have a place to live, tax officials, once they search a house, dig up the floors, walls, bathtub, even pry open the TV and refrigerator… leaving everything "devastated like a tsunami" after the search.

In Japan, they implement information technology applications in a synchronized and unified manner: all government data, citizen data, business data, and tourist data are updated into a single "national data" system shared by all sectors, from the government to the people. They don't use multiple separate software applications for each industry, sector, or locality like we do.

"Seeing is believing," and thanks to the "national data system," the sales tax refund procedure for foreign customers conducted by Japanese businesses is lightning fast, taking only 3-5 minutes. If the total payment exceeds 10,000 yen (equivalent to 1.8 million Vietnamese dong), they are asked to scan their passport like a credit card on the page with the photo and characters. Immediately, the buyer's information is displayed on the computer: full name, nationality, date of arrival in Japan, duration of stay in Japan, amount of cash declared to Customs, etc. With just one simple step, the tax refund is deducted from the amount the customer has to pay.

Another thing we witnessed firsthand was the relatively effective tax collection methods employed by the Japanese National Tax Service, which could be applied in Vietnam. For example, regional tax offices have "Tax Collection Centers via Telephone," where taxpayers are repeatedly reminded through an automated telephone system by agents throughout the day until they commit to paying their taxes.

When a taxpayer picks up the phone, the "data system" will automatically display the company's tax information on the screen for the transaction officer to use. If the commitment deadline is exceeded, the tax officer will automatically proceed with tax enforcement... and most importantly, Japanese law allows tax officers full authority to act in a "Japanese style" as stipulated by law, to ensure that tax revenue is collected for the state budget.