“Parents’ Effort, Children’s Burden: Questioning the Purpose of Japan’s Inheritance Tax”
Imagine if over half of the wealth you painstakingly built throughout your life was seized by the government after your death — would you accept that?
Japan’s inheritance tax is exceptionally high, standing out not only among developed nations but also compared to other Asian countries.
The highest tax rate is a staggering 55%.
This means that more than half of any inheritance exceeding a certain amount is collected as tax.
Originally introduced to dismantle the zaibatsu (financial cliques) after World War II, this outdated system still exists today, relentlessly eroding the wealth of not just the affluent, but also ordinary families.
Take, for instance, an elderly couple living in a detached house in central Tokyo.
The assessed value of their land is several hundred million yen,
but their income consists only of modest pensions.
Their surviving children are forced to sell the house to pay the exorbitant inheritance tax.
These tragedies are not uncommon.
Even in families running businesses, many are forced to sell their cherished companies, passed down through generations, because they cannot bear the burden of inheritance tax.
Here, let’s consider this calmly: Is inheritance tax truly necessary in Japan?
Let’s look at the world stage.
First, what’s the situation in developed countries?
