What is a Certified Public Tax Accountant?

Significance of the Self-Assessment Scheme

The obligation to pay taxes is stipulated in Japan’s Constitution and forms the very basis for tax laws. The Act on General Rules for National Taxes prescribes two methods for calculating the amount of national taxes, the self-assessment scheme and the official assessment scheme.
The former is defined as a “system whereby in principle the amount of tax due is determined by the taxpayer’s filing a return, and only when not filing or calculation of the amount of taxes is not in accordance with the law concerning national taxes, or the amount cited by the taxpayer differs from the results of inspection by the district director of the tax office or chief customs inspector concerned, shall it be determined by the disposition of said superintendent or chief customs inspector.”
Currently, this self-assessment system applies to almost all national taxes except very few cases and occupies an important position in Japan‘s taxation scheme.
This self-assessment scheme is deemed very democratic and in the spirit of our Constitution, as the taxpayers themselves calculate the amount of tax due based on tax laws and file a return, thereby voluntarily fulfilling their obligation to pay taxes.