Japan to Weaken Tax Burden on Long-Term Foreign Residents, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japan intends to relax taxation of foreign residents who have lived in the country for more than ten years to make the country more attractive as a financial hub, the Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.

Under the current laws, Japan levies an inheritance tax on foreigners' overseas assets, provided that they have lived in the country for over ten years, but a special measure may make them exempt from that requirement, the agency's sources say.

Tokyo will also allow companies that are not listed at the stock exchange to claim payments to their executives as business expenses to reduce their corporate taxes.

According to the agency's source in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), these measures aim to retain foreign specialists who leave the country within ten years to avoid additional taxes.

The measures are said to be part of the tax reform package for 2021 fiscal year. Last year the former Japan's prime minister announced decisive mesures to ensure GDP growth. Among them was named fiscal and monetary stimulus to support bussiness activity and revive consumer demand.