Withholding tax - Gensenchoshu

Income tax is paid by filing a final tax return, but for certain income, a method is also used in which income tax is collected by a third party other than the taxpayer and paid to the government; this method is called withholding at source. In Japanese tax law, the term withholding at source is only used for income tax, and the method of having a third party other than the taxpayer collect taxes and pay them to the government, including withholding at source, is called collection and payment, and in the National Tax General Law, national taxes collected by the collection and payment method are called "taxes withheld at source, etc." In addition, in the Local Tax Law, collection and payment is called special collection. National taxes withheld at source, etc. refer to income taxes related to withholding at source and exchange taxes that should be collected and paid under the provisions of the Securities Transaction Tax Law. In local taxes, special collection refers to having a person who has an advantage in collecting local taxes collect them and pay the taxes that should be collected.

Although income tax was withheld at source for some income before the Second World War, the current system of withholding tax was introduced during the tax reform of 1947. Today, the types of income subject to withholding tax and the associated withholding tax rates are as follows:

(1) An income tax of 15% is levied on interest income and 20% on dividend income at the time of payment by the payer of interest and dividends.

(2) For employment income, a table has been prepared that allows the tax amount to be immediately calculated according to the amount of salary and the number of dependents, and withholding tax is based on this table. Since employment income is also subject to a year-end adjustment system, most employment income earners do not need to file a tax return.

(3) With regard to retirement income, the amount of tax to be withheld is determined based on the tax table, but a 20% withholding tax rate is applied to those who have not submitted a benefit declaration form.

(4) For public pensions, the tax rate shall be 5% (10% for other public pensions, etc.) on the remaining amount after deducting a specified amount from the amount of the public pension, etc.

(5) With regard to certain remuneration or fees (such as royalties for manuscripts, speaking fees, composition fees, fees for attorneys or certified public accountants, and film or television appearance fees), a withholding tax of 10 to 20 percent is levied on the amount remaining after a certain amount is deducted.

(6) With regard to pensions based on life insurance contracts, etc., a withholding tax rate of 10% will be applied to the remaining amount of mutual assistance specified by government ordinance, a withholding tax rate of 15% will be applied to payments of benefit compensation, interest, profits or marginal gains on fixed term deposits, and a withholding tax rate of 20% will be applied to payments of profit distribution based on anonymous partnership agreements.

(7) Domestic-source income of nonresidents or corporations is subject to withholding tax at rates of 20%, 10%, or 15%, depending on the type of income.

The payment deadline is the 10th of the month following the month in which the tax was collected. In fiscal 2007, out of the total income tax of 16.1 trillion yen, 12.9 trillion yen was withheld, and 3.2 trillion yen was declared, with withholding accounting for 80.4% of the total income tax. In addition, out of the total national tax revenue of 51 trillion yen, withholding income tax accounted for 25.3%. The largest amount of withholding tax was withholding tax on employment income, accounting for 65.7% of the total amount of withholding tax, followed by dividend income at 16.3%, remuneration, fee income at 8.0%, and interest income at 4.2%. With the progress of globalization, withholding tax on non-resident income also accounts for 2.6%.

Income tax withholding is adopted in most countries that collect income tax, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, but there are few cases where the tax collector is made to decide the final amount of tax, as is the case in Japan with year-end adjustments for salary income. Adjustments are also made at the end of the year in Germany, but in the United Kingdom, adjustments are made each time salary is paid, and there is no year-end adjustment. Also, in the United States, there is no system of year-end adjustments, and taxpayers settle the amount of withholding tax and the amount of tax when filing their tax return. In France, tax withholding is not carried out, but taxpayers whose tax amount for the previous year exceeds a certain amount are required to pay one-third in advance twice a year.

The current Japanese system has the following advantages: tax collection is reliable and efficient; there is almost no time lag between the generation of income and the payment of tax, enhancing the built-in stabilizer function of income tax; and tax payment is easy because it is divided. On the other hand, problems have been pointed out, such as a large administrative burden on tax collectors; comprehensive taxation is difficult because withholding is only applied to certain income; and salary earners are ultimately treated unfairly in terms of the deduction of necessary expenses and the income capture rate. Tax collection includes not only the cost of tax administration, but also the cost required for taxpayers to pay the correct amount of tax in accordance with the tax law. The withholding system saves on tax administration costs, but it should not be forgotten that it also imposes compliance costs on companies that generate income. Regarding the sense of unfairness related to the disparity in income capture rates, rather than abolishing the withholding system, it is being considered to address the issue by improving the tax payment environment, such as by introducing a taxpayer identification number system, for other income that is not subject to withholding.

[Masatoshi Hayashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

所得税は確定申告による納税をたてまえとするが、特定の所得については、納税義務者以外の第三者に所得税を徴収させ国に納付させる方法もとられていて、この方法を源泉徴収とよんでいる。日本の税法では、源泉徴収という用語は所得税に対してのみ用いられており、源泉徴収も含めて、納税義務者以外の第三者に租税を徴収させ国に納付させる方法を徴収納付といい、国税通則法では、徴収納付の方法で徴収される国税を「源泉徴収等による租税」とよんでいる。また、地方税法においては徴収納付のことを特別徴収とよぶ。源泉徴収等による国税は、源泉徴収にかかわる所得税、有価証券取引税法の規定により徴収して納付すべき取引所税をいう。地方税では特別徴収が、地方税の徴収において便宜を有する者にこれを徴収させ、かつ、その徴収すべき税金を納入させることをいう。

　所得税の源泉徴収は、第二次世界大戦前から一部の所得については行われたが、現行制度のような源泉徴収制度が導入されたのは1947年（昭和22）の税制改革の際である。今日では、次のように源泉徴収を行う所得と、その源泉徴収税率とが定められている。

(1)利子所得については15％、配当所得には支払いの際に支払額の20％に相当する所得税が、利子および配当の支払者により徴収される。

(2)給与所得については、給与額と扶養家族数に応じて税額がただちにわかるような表がつくられており、これに基づいて源泉徴収が行われる。給与所得についてはさらに年末調整の制度がとられているので、大部分の給与所得者は、確定申告の必要はない。

(3)退職所得については、税額表によって徴収すべき税額が求められるが、受給申告書を提出しなかった者については20％の源泉徴収税率が適用される。

(4)公的年金については、公的年金等の金額から定める金額を控除した残額に、5％（その他公的年金等にあっては、10％）の税率を乗じて計算した金額とする。

(5)特定の報酬または料金（原稿料、講演料、作曲料、弁護士・公認会計士などの報酬、映画・テレビの出演料など）については、一定額の控除をした残額に対して10％ないし20％の源泉徴収が行われる。

(6)生命保険契約等に基づく年金についても、政令で定める共助をした残額に対して10％、定期積立金に対する給付補填(ほてん)金、利息、利益または差益の支払いに対しては15％、匿名組合契約に基づく利益の分配の支払いに対しては20％の源泉徴収税率が適用される。

(7)非居住者または法人の国内源泉所得に対しては、所得の種類に応じて20％、10％、15％の率で源泉徴収される。

　納付の期日は、徴収した日の属する月の翌月10日までとなっている。なお、2007年度（平成19）においては、所得税総額16.1兆円のうち源泉徴収税額は12.9兆円、申告所得税額は3.2兆円で、所得税額のなかでは源泉徴収税額が80.4％を占めた。また、国税税収総額51兆円のうち、源泉所得税の占める比率は25.3％である。源泉徴収税額のなかでは給与所得の源泉徴収税額がもっとも多く、源泉徴収税額総額の65.7％を占め、ついで配当所得等が16.3％、報酬、料金等所得が8.0％、利子所得等が4.2％を占めている。グローバル化の進展に伴って、非居住者所得の源泉徴収税額も2.6％を占める。

　所得税の源泉徴収は、アメリカ、イギリス、ドイツなど所得税を徴収している国ではほとんど採用されているが、日本の給与所得における年末調整のように、最終的な税額の決定まで徴収義務者に行わせている例は少ない。ドイツにおいても年末に調整することになっているが、イギリスにおいては給与の支払いのつどに調整することになっていて、年末調整はない。また、アメリカでは年末調整という制度はなく、源泉徴収額と税額との精算は納税者が確定申告において行う。フランスでは源泉徴収は行われないが、前年の税額が一定額以上の納税義務者には、年2回、3分の1ずつを予納する義務が課される。

　日本の現行制度については、徴税が確実で能率的である、所得の発生と納税の時間的ずれがほとんどなくなり所得税のビルトイン・スタビライザー（自動安定装置）機能を高める、分割されるので納税しやすい、などの利点があげられる。他方、徴税義務者には大きな事務的負担になること、特定の所得に対してだけ源泉徴収が行われるため総合課税が困難になること、給与所得者は必要経費の控除や所得の捕捉(ほそく)率などの面で結果的に不公平な扱いを受けていること、などの問題点が指摘されている。徴税には税務行政にかかる費用に加えて、納税者が税法に従って正確な税額を収めるために必要な費用が含まれる。源泉徴収制度は税務行政費用は節約するが、所得の発生する企業等にコンプライアンス（法令遵守）費用を負担させている側面も忘れてはならない。また、所得捕捉率の格差にかかわる不公平感については、源泉徴収制度を廃止するのではなく、源泉徴収の対象とされない他の所得を、納税者背番号制の導入等の納税環境の改善により対応することが検討されている。

［林　正寿］

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