Job Discussion Forums

BenJ · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 209 Location: Nagoya

at a recruitment session for INTERAC on the weekend, the recruiter told me the tax rate for income across the board is 4.7%. I had always heard prior to this that WHV people pay more, much more. Is it true that everyone pays 4.7 only?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Interac does not know what it is talking about. People with work visas pay about 5-10%. (I paid 5% for 3 years while working as a full-time employee at a language school. Of course, the job title was stated as FT in the ad, but I'm sure the school called it PT when they reported income to the authorities because my classroom time was 25 hours a week, obviously not a true FT working period of 40 hours. Maybe this is why I paid less than 10%.)
http://www.studyjapan.go.jp/en/faq/faq05e.html
http://www.mof.go.jp/english/tax/taxes020918.pdf

People with working holiday visas pay 20% (http://www.jawhm.or.jp/eng/index.html).

It also depends on your income.
http://www.cgj.org/en/f/04.html

BenJ · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 209 Location: Nagoya

cheers
i;ll look into it further

Davefay · Joined: 02 Jun 2003 Posts: 3 Location: Nagano, Japan

I've worked for two different companies over 7 years in Japan (one of which was Interac) and always paid 4.7%. If you paid between 5 and 10% I think perhapsyou paid too much? Anyway, that's my experience.

Dave

G Cthulhu · Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2003 1:13 am Post subject: Re: Tax rate

Interac are talking bollocks, and Glenski is slightly mistaken in this instance. WHV people should be paying withholding tax which is (from memory) around 20%.

But when you *finish* working the employer should calculate the correct annual tax and you should get a refund - if they do it properly you'll get (depending on how much you earnt) anywhere between half and all of it back, along with a tax credit certificate to take back to your home country. If you were actually following the conditions of the WHV then you should get it all back as you probably wouldn't be earning enough to pay tax here.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Cthulu, I believe I wrote 20% for WHV holders, too. I don't understand what I was "mistaken" about there.

Thanks for the news on getting a refund, though. I don't qualify for a WHV, so I was not aware of that nicety.

BenJ · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 209 Location: Nagoya

so is this a case of 'what you can get away with'? Asking around at my work, I've heard at least as many people stating they never paid more than 5% tax while working WHV as those who state you have to pay up to 20%.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2003 12:06 am Post subject: