Tax evasion rose to ¥14.9 billion in fiscal 2014

The amount of tax evasion detected by tax authorities in fiscal 2014 came to ¥14.9 billion, including penalties, up by ¥500 million from a year before, the National Tax Agency said.

In the year ended in March, tax authorities detected 180 tax evasion cases through raids, down by five from the preceding year, agency officials said Monday.

Criminal complaints were filed with prosecutors for 112 of the total cases, down by six. The proportion of cases in which criminal complaints were filed stood at 62.2 percent.

The number of detected cases and those in which criminal complaints were filed both marked the second-lowest level since fiscal 1970. The decreases were apparently because of economic weakness following the global financial crisis and the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a tax official said.

In fiscal 2014, authorities launched raids in 194 cases, up nine from the previous year and the first increase in five years, apparently on the back of the economic upturn.

The real estate industry topped the list of tax evaders with a total of 16 cases, followed by clubs and bars with 10 and construction companies, with eight.

In some cases, hidden cash was discovered in cardboard boxes placed inside closets at home and in suitcases placed under beds.