An investigation by the tax authorities found that the director of a medical cosmetic clinic in Tokyo failed to report approximately ¥1 billion ($6.6 million) of income in 2022, which she originally received as a subsidy for COVID-19 tests, sources said on Thursday.
It's uncommon for a subsidy of this magnitude to be recognized as a recipient’s personal income.
According to the sources, Miho Ishiyama, a doctor who runs Skinsia Clinic in Tokyo’s Arakawa Ward, applied to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to register as a business operator to perform free COVID-19 testing in December 2021.
From March 2022, Ishiyama established testing facilities at three locations in Tokyo, including at Skinsia Clinic, and received subsidies for conducting PCR tests free of charge.
The clinic outsourced testing services and recorded expenses totaling approximately ¥2.8 billion. However, an audit by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau revealed that approximately ¥1 billion was not paid to the outsourcers.
Allegedly, most of these funds was utilized by Ishiyama's husband, also a doctor, for expenses not related to COVID-19.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau concluded that the sum had been diverted into Ishiyama's personal account. It deems the funds used by her husband as a loan, which necessitates a tax report that has not yet been filed.
The outstanding income tax, inclusive of penalties for underreporting, is around ¥600 million.
Sources indicate that Ishiyama has already submitted an amended tax filing.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said "should it be determined that subsidies were misappropriated for purposes different from their intended use, we will not hesitate to take rigorous measures."