More on death tax
More now on inheritance or death tax. Alastair had heard that "death tax" is very high in Japan and was wondering if this was the case.
If Alastair was talking about the Japanese inheritance tax, then yes, it is very high. This is why so many large estates are being sold and carved up into small plots, and why historic buildings have no intrinsic value. The idea is to do away with inherited wealth; all very totalitarian. Unless you are so rich it doesn't matter, of course.
For details, refer to Tokyo Metropolitan Government's guide (in English), "Guide to Metropolitan Tax." This has three pages on inheritance taxes. Call TMG's Foreign Residents Advisory Service on (03) 5320-7744 for details of where and how to get hold of a copy.