Founder of slot machine giant Universal Entertainment fails to declare 5 billion yen in tax return by failing to include Hong Kong corporation’s income
It has been learned from sources that the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has pointed out that Kazuo Okada (81), founder and former chairman of Universal Entertainment (UE, Tokyo), a major slot machine manufacturer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Exchange, failed to declare about 5 billion yen over the three years up to 2020 regarding the income of an asset management company established in Hong Kong. Based on the “tax haven countermeasure tax system” that prevents tax evasion using foreign corporations, it was determined that part of the income of the asset management company should have been added to his personal income and declared.
This tax system is mostly applied to corporations, and its application to individuals is rare. The amount of additional income tax (reassessment) including the non-filing penalty was about 2.7 billion yen, and Okada appealed the disposition to the National Tax Tribunal, but it was dismissed at the end of 2011.
According to sources, the Hong Kong asset management company was established in 2010, and Okada and his relatives have held shares in it. As of 2011, the company’s total assets were worth about 100 billion yen, and it is believed that the company received a large amount of income from interest and other sources. In addition, the company acquired UE shares to become the parent company and received dividends from UE.
This tax system applies to foreign corporations in which Japanese corporations and Japanese residents hold more than 50% of the shares, when the local corporate tax burden rate is less than 20% and there is no actual business. Hong Kong’s corporate tax rate is about 16%, significantly lower than Japan’s (about 29%). The Hong Kong Revenue Department pointed out that the asset management company had no actual business and that about 3 billion yen of the company’s income, equivalent to Okada’s share of the shares (about 46%), should have been declared in Japan. Including the dividends from the company to Okada personally, the total amount of undeclared income is estimated to be about 5 billion yen.
The Yomiuri Shimbun requested an interview with Okada through his lawyer, but did not receive a response. UE said, “Mr. Okada is currently not related to our company.”
Sales here are incomparably harder than Sammy or Daito, and they’re in a much tougher position. Despite that, the founder has saved up a ton of money and is evading taxes. It’s all over.
I miss the days when you could make 250,000 yen a month if you were a little good at hitting the buttons. And because you could also evade taxes, your real annual income was about 4 million yen. It was a time before the internet, but young people who were sensitive to information flocked to play slots.
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