Hi gang,
I'm so happy to have found this active group with what seems like priceless information and advice available for free and in English. I've read up on some of the most critical things in this sub which has been immensely educational, but please correct me if I'm wrong on anything as I request your input on my current situation below.
I’m a dual national who held an address in Japan 9 years ago (almost to the month) while working for my buddy's design firm. This was for almost 14 months. Having been born in Japan, I've had a Japanese passport my entire life along with a New Zealand passport, which is where I reside now and have for 39 years. I understand my time spent living in Japan as a Japanese person to be around 3 years: 14 months as a tax resident as mentioned earlier and the rest as an infant.
Ive gathered that the above makes me liable for any inheritance received since I lived/worked in Japan within the past 10years.
Sadly, Mum (Kiwi with no ties to Japan in the past 30+ years) passed a few weeks back and my dad (Japanese residing in Japan) and I are the statutory heirs. The majority of assets are located in NZ, with only one property in Japan being left to my dad according to the will. Everything in New Zealand was left for me.
While I visit Japan once a year, dad and I are no longer close by any means, but I try to see him every time I'm there. I have no intention of ever living or working in Japan in the future, so I guess my question is whether NTA would really team up with IRD to come knocking on my door if I decide not to declare the assets in NZ?
I would happily forfeit my Japanese citizenship and transfer the estate into my partners name to move on. How could CRS be used to audit my mother's details or partner who have zero ties to Japan in thr first place?
My dad is pretty set up in Japan and won't be contesting the will that passed everything in NZ to me. NZ has a great relationship with Japan regarding visa’s so I effectively have no attachment to my Japanese citizenship. In hindsight, I should have dropped my citizenship when I got married back here and knew that I’d be in NZ for the rest of my life but regret is a bugger of a thing.
I understand this is blatant tax evasion and many of you here would disapprove of this – rightfully so. But I find the structure of Japanese inheritance laws unfathomable since it's not reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This makes it blatantly unfair for those who have spent next to no time in the country, especially given the importance of residency 'for tax purposes'.
For myself, my partner, and my newborn, the estate in question is life-altering and I'm finding it difficult to come to terms with paying some 40% worth of effective tax to a country I've spent a mere 3 years in my whole life. This figure was reached using a calculator that a member posted here some time ago – it seemed quite accurate based on how the spreadsheet’s formula was set up, but please let me know if that file has been superseded.
I've always paid my taxes (including during my work in Japan) and would never even think of dodging what I need to pay so I feel like a hypocrit but that is that.
Cheers for any feedback and I accept all comments including the likely hate I'll cop for trying to avoid tax 😭
by charlies-chaplin