オンライン署名英訳版　We protest against the invoice system, which negatively affects the lives of everyone living in Japan.

To everyone who loves Japan all over the world, Please sign our online petition to stop the new invoice tax system that'll destroy Japanese culture and industry! We need 1,000,000 signatures
Click here to sign the petition.　→→　https://chng.it/Xxb7gcJknT

Click here to download a flyer with a MANGA explanation of the invoice system.

A flyer explaining the invoice system in MANGA form

Japanese Invoice System has started on October 1, 2023.

 The Invoice System causes a CONSUMPTION TAX INCREASE with the tax rate unchanged.

 Since the tax rate remains the same, it is difficult to feel that consumption tax has been “increased,” but with the introduction of the Invoice System, either businesses or consumers must inevitably bear the burden of the tax increase.

Currently, there seem many people asked for invoices by clients or told by accountants to "get invoices for expense receipts.''

 The reason why they are asked for "invoices" instead of conventional receipts or bills is because the invoices have the value of "cash voucher" to businesses. To put it the other way around, if the businesses can't obtain invoices that serve as cash vouchers, they have to pay a larger amount of consumption tax.

 Next, I’d like to explain the mechanism of the Invoice System.

Until now, taxable businesses with annual sales of over 10 million yen could deduct the consumption tax on purchases from the consumption tax on sales with the bills issued to them. This system is called a "purchases-tax deduction system."

 <<Example>>
 Amount of sales: 55 million JPY (including consumption tax of 5 million JPY)
 Amount of purchase: 11 million JPY (including consumption tax of 1 million JPY)
Consumption tax of 5 million JPY on sales - Consumption tax of 1 million JPY on purchases = Tax amount of 4 million JPY

Under the Invoice System, purchase tax deduction is impossible without an invoice with a registration number (= qualified invoice), so in the example above, you can't deduce 1 million JPY. If that's the case, the amount of consumption tax should be paid shoots up from 4 million JPY to 5 million JPY.

Namely, it can be also said that the Invoice System "changes the purchases-tax deduction system of consumption tax."

 In spite of that, not everyone can issue an invoice.

A qualified invoice is only that with a 13-digit number starting with T issued by the district director after applying to the competent tax office. In order to acquire the number, you must become a "taxable business," obliged to pay consumption tax.

For tax exemption businesses such as freelancers and sole proprietors with annual sales of 10 million yen or less, becoming an invoice issuing business means that they must pay anew consumption tax, that is "consumption tax increase."

 On the other hand, if a tax exemption business doesn't become a taxable business and can't issue an invoice, taxable businesses that deal with the tax exemption business become unable to deduct the amount of purchases-tax, and therefore are subject to this amount of "consumption tax increase."

 If the taxable businesses can't bear the burden of the tax increase, they have no choice but to raise the prices of services and goods. In other words, they will impose the "consumption tax increase" on consumers.

To everyone who loves Japan all over the world, Please sign our online petition to stop the new invoice tax system that'll destroy Japanese culture and industry! We need 1,000,000 signatures
Click here to sign the petition.　→→　https://chng.it/Xxb7gcJknT

 The Invoice System, the legislation of which was enacted in 2016, does not specify who bears the tax increase: "taxable businesses,'' "tax exemption businesses,'' or "consumers.'' As a result, tax exemption businesses are forced to “offer discounts” or are “excluded from transactions.” Besides, taxable businesses that hope to deal with tax exemption businesses even after the implementation of the Invoice System are forced to suffer from the tax increase.

 The Japan Fair Trade Commission has published the guideline on the Invoice System, but currently shows the opinion that even "suspension of transactions because of non-registration in the Invoice System'' is not a violation of the Antimonopoly Act. It is said that more than 10 million businesses will be affected by the system, so it is hard to believe that the Fair Trade Commission will function as a safety net.

 Backoffice work burden increase is also one of the major problems with the Invoice System.

According to a private company survey, the introduction of the Invoice System would result in an annual cost of over 4 trillion JPY. According to our research, more than 30% of accountants say they want to "quit their accounting jobs” due to the too heavy backoffice work.

In addition, we cannot help but say that the weak security on the website of qualified invoice issuers published by the National Tax Agency, where information such as the real names of sole proprietors can be collectively downloaded with simple programming, is a deviation from the perspective of personal information protection.

In response to opposition voices from various industries, sudden change alleviation measures were taken half a year before the start of the Invoice System, as a result of that, the system became even more complicated and far from three principles of tax: “fairness, neutrality, and simplicity,” filled with transitional measures and special exceptions. 

 Regarding the only reason for introducing the system, "appropriate taxation under multiple tax rates,'' neither the government nor the Ministry of Finance have not presented the number of "inappropriate cases'' that serve as the basis for the legislation, and today, seven years after the legislation was enacted, no reasonable explanation is given.

Tax exemption businesses that can't issue qualified invoices are sometimes subject to slanderous accusations such as "You are a tax cheat," "You're pocketing a kickback," or "You're embezzling." However, the Ministry of Finance has stated in the Diet that there is no "deposit tax'' of consumption tax, and the Consumption Tax Law does not define that consumption tax includes "deposit" or "tax-profit."

 Furthermore, many people don't still know that consumption tax is a harsh tax that must be paid even if your business is in the red or goes bankrupt. 

We believe that the Invoice System will affect all people living in Japan, regardless of business size or industry (for example, it became clear in the Diet that electricity rate would be increased with the introduction of the system).

For all the above reasons, we strongly protest against this Invoice System, calling upon the government to review, cancel, and suspend for the time being.

To everyone who loves Japan all over the world, Please sign our online petition to stop the new invoice tax system that'll destroy Japanese culture and industry! We need 1,000,000 signatures
Click here to sign the petition.　→→　https://chng.it/Xxb7gcJknT

 [Request for Donation]

We are a volunteer team of around 10 members, many of whom are freelancers, sole proprietors, and company employees engaged in work, childcare, and nursing care.

Our activities come into existence with your voices.

On the other hand, it incurs cost on a daily basis to collect your voices and deliver them to the government.

 

[Example of large-scale event costs] 

Oct. 2022 Event in Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall about 800,000 JPY

Jun. 2023 Protest Rally in front of the Diet about 700,000 JPY

Jun. 2023 Foreign Correspondents' Club Press Conference about 400,000 JPY

Sep. 2023 Event in front of the Prime Minister's Office about 400,000 JPY

 If you would like to help our activities, we would appreciate your donation. [Click here to donate]

*Sorry, currently you cannot donate by bank transfer.