February 25, 2014
An increasing number of local municipalities provide unmarried single fathers/mothers with special income tax deductions, which are given under a national law only to single parents who used to be married.
Akahata found that more than 60 local governments throughout Japan have implemented such special measures for their residents.
The Income Tax Law gives the special tax deduction only to single parents who divorced or whose spouses died. Since it is not applied to single parents who have never married, their payments for childcare services, which are determined based on the amount of their tax payments, are higher than single parents who used to be married.
In the case of single parents with a two year-old child earning two million yen a year, for example, the difference in annual childcare payments could be as high as 128,400 yen between those with and without marriage records, according to calculations made by Tokyo’s Hachioji City, which introduced the special tax deduction for all single-parent households this fiscal year.
Public voices calling for the special tax deduction to be applied to all single fathers and mothers regardless of whether they used to be married or not has increased since September last year, when the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for unmarried couple’s children to be able to receive only half of the inheritance a legally-married couple’s children can receive.
Following the top court decision, the Civil Code Law was revised in December last year in order to correct the discrimination against the children who were born outside the system of officially-registered marriage.
In Diet discussions in March last year, Japanese Communist Party House of Councilors member Yamashita Yoshiki urged the government to revise the Income Tax Law, arguing that it is unreasonable for single parents to be treated differently because of the lack of marriage records. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations also made the same demand in a statement it released in January this year.
Past related articles:
> Grand Bench rules discrimination against out-of-wedlock children unconstitutional [September 5, 2013]
> Give tax credits to all mother-child households: JCP [March 26, 2013]
Akahata found that more than 60 local governments throughout Japan have implemented such special measures for their residents.
The Income Tax Law gives the special tax deduction only to single parents who divorced or whose spouses died. Since it is not applied to single parents who have never married, their payments for childcare services, which are determined based on the amount of their tax payments, are higher than single parents who used to be married.
In the case of single parents with a two year-old child earning two million yen a year, for example, the difference in annual childcare payments could be as high as 128,400 yen between those with and without marriage records, according to calculations made by Tokyo’s Hachioji City, which introduced the special tax deduction for all single-parent households this fiscal year.
Public voices calling for the special tax deduction to be applied to all single fathers and mothers regardless of whether they used to be married or not has increased since September last year, when the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for unmarried couple’s children to be able to receive only half of the inheritance a legally-married couple’s children can receive.
Following the top court decision, the Civil Code Law was revised in December last year in order to correct the discrimination against the children who were born outside the system of officially-registered marriage.
In Diet discussions in March last year, Japanese Communist Party House of Councilors member Yamashita Yoshiki urged the government to revise the Income Tax Law, arguing that it is unreasonable for single parents to be treated differently because of the lack of marriage records. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations also made the same demand in a statement it released in January this year.
Past related articles:
> Grand Bench rules discrimination against out-of-wedlock children unconstitutional [September 5, 2013]
> Give tax credits to all mother-child households: JCP [March 26, 2013]
