THE CURRENT SITUATION AND ISSUES OF TAXPAYER EDUCATION IN JAPAN

Kenichi Sasaki
Prof. Dr., Hokkaido University of Education, JAPAN

Abstract

This paper discusses that the importance of taxpayer education in Japan increases than before on the base of preceding taxpayer education-related studies. According to the Constitution of Japan, taxpaying is one of the duties or responsibilities of citizens. A taxpayer is a person who pays or is responsible for paying taxes. The Constitution of Japan declares the principle of “taxation under the law,” in Article 30, “the people shall be liable to taxation as provided by the law,” and in Article 84, “no new taxes shall be imposed or existing ones modified except by law or under such conditions as the law may prescribe.” Japan Federation of Certified Public Tax Accountants' Associations (JFCPTAA) and National Tax Agency (NTA) explained the importance of taxpayer education with Article 30 and Article 84 under the Constitution of Japan. Taxpayer education programs in conducted by JFCPTAA and NTA. It’s designed to help teachers and to foster student citizenship in elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools. Both of them give pedagogical and entertaining ways to learn about paying taxes as duties of citizens under the Constitution of Japan. In addition, NTA held the tax essay contest intended for high school students every year since 1957. There were 629,534 junior high school students and 210,468 high school students of entries from around the country in SY 2016.

In Hokkaido University of Education Asahikawa, the class on tax has been held once every year since 2015, and some special officers of public relations from the nearest Tax Office deliver a lecture of tax for students in the teachers training course. Based on the results of the questionnaire for the participants, most of them answered better understanding of terms and issues on taxation after attending the class. Their two biggest concerns are the use of tax revenue and tax system in Japan. Therefore, it will be possible to increase students’ interest in tax topics by this class of class. According to the Constitution of Japan, taxpaying is one of the duties or responsibilities of citizens. But students’ consciousness of taxes is not high in Japan. The importance of taxpayer education increases with raising the consumption tax rate and reforming and reforming public sector management. The effective taxpayer education is needed in elementary, middle or high school and students who will be a teacher in the future should have an opportunity to take a course in tax. It can enhance students’ motivation to study public finance and their consciousness of taxes and understand tax topics more clearly.

Keywords: Taxpayer education, Citizenship education, Economic education