Tip 175: Informed about tax incentive & govt subsidy

It's the recession and many governments are giving cash handouts. Together with a host of many other things a daddy needs to do, keeping track of such news is one of them. The deadline for this tax kickback by the Japanese government is fast approaching. For Shinjuku ward, it is August 6. This probably does not apply to all of Japan and it could be different between prefectures and wards within Tokyo. Officially, the deadline will be 6 months after the implementation date, anywhere between January 27, 2009 when the Japanese Diet approved the ¥2 trillion economic stimulus package and March 31, the deadline given for the ward and municipal offices to implement this Supplementary Income Payment (teigaku kyuufukin).

So check your bank accounts if the money has been depositted if you have already submitted the application. If you have not done so, do not bother looking in your post box for the application form mailed to you. Just rush off to the ward office with your alien registration card and bank book/ATM card. It has been reported that payments to post savings accounts take longer. But according to the policy, in some circumstances, payments can be received in person. There have been a host of many practical problems such as application forms that were filled incorrectly with English names instead of katakana names, yet in some cases, the foreign applicants were able to insist that the payments be made regardless of such petty mistakes. So, don't give up. This handout is meant for you if you meet the conditions.













The only condition is that the foreigner need to have a gaikokujin torokusho/alien registration card as of February 1, 2009. That means you have not surrendered it even if you are overseas.














Cash amount (non-taxable)
• 18 years old or under on February 1, 2009: ¥20,000 per person
• 65 years old or over on February 1, 2009: ¥20,000 per person
• All others: ¥12,000 per person













Besides this cash handout, I have been getting 10,000 yen (USD$100) subsidy a month for having a child in Japan besides the existing tax rebates. Many other wards have such cash incentives too. Check it out.













(Photos show Mount Fuji in summer viewed from Enoshima).