P.M. BRIEFING : Tax Evasion in Japan Hits a High
Tax evasion by corporations and individuals hit a record 25.15 billion yen ($190.5 million) in 1988, up 17.2% over the preceding year, the national daily newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported today.
The paper said its nationwide survey showed that tax evasion cases involving profits from stock trading were apparently the result of schemes deliberately engineered by professional stock dealers such as securities companies. It said tax evasion by corporations accounted for $93.2 million, while that by individuals totaled $97.3 million.
The biggest individual case involved Isao Nakaseko, leader of a group of stock speculators who was convicted of failing to pay $15.9 million in taxes on profits made from stock trading, it said.
Singapore Sangyo Co., a Japanese beef importer, was the biggest corporate tax evader, allegedly concealing a $10.3 million profit by falsifying import records.
The paper said the entertainment industry, including pachinko parlors, had the largest number of tax evaders, followed by the real estate industry.
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