Tax Returns Japanese Style

Picture this. Average workers don't have to file a return because their employers do it for them. They get a simple form at work in November, list their deductions and hand it back in at work. The office staff does the rest.

If you have more than one employer, you do have to file a return. It's fairly straight forward and entails filling out a simple, one-page form. You can file online, by mail, or go down to the tax office and do it in person. If you choose the latter, you get your own cubicle with step-by-step instructions, an adding machine, and a bunch of pencils, erasers and pens. People in blue jackets wander around the room giving advice as needed, in fact they'll do your taxes for you.

As a foreigner with middling Japanese skills, I figured I'd go down to the tax office give the income tax form my best shot. I was surrounded by the aged and senile, retired folk who had to file their own taxes. I started plodding through a color coded instruction pamphlet that seemed to be written for a junior high school audience. Do parents in Japan have their kids do their taxes for them? I wanted to see if I could navigate through the tax form by myself, but whenever I slowed down, a guy in a blue jacket would show up and talk me through to the next step. He effectively did my taxes for me and 20 minutes later I was back on the street.Ta

More on Yen Mortgages

The yen mortgages through Banner Japan originate from Lloyd's TSB Bank in Hong Kong. The mimimum loan amount is $250,000, so this won't help you out if you're looking for a loan of more modest proportions. The yen mortgages are available to U.S. residents only for the purchase of investment property.

Yen Mortgages

The yen is weak. Experts have been predicting a strenghening yen for the last couple of years, and still predict that the yen will strenghten against the dollar in the long term. How about the short term? On January 18th the yen sagged to a near 4-year low against the dollar and near record lows against the euro. The Reuters article identified the culprit as The BOJ's decisiion to keep interest rates at 0.25 percent.

The yen is also cheap. As much as I enjoy living in Japan, I sometimes think of living in the U.S. These fantasies usually involve a house and it was during one of these reveries that I first heard of yen mortgages. Borrow dollars to buy your humble dwelling and you pay U.S. interest rates of about 6%. Borrow yen and your interest rate will be under 2%.

Yen mortgages have been around for awhile. I searched the Internet and found articles like this one, from 1996. They seemed to be more popular in the U.K. The only source for yen mortgages in Japan I could find is Banner Japan. They offer 1.3% rates on domestic and overseas yen mortgages.