Japan’s tax agency locates offshore bank accounts
Japan’s National Tax Agency has obtained information on more than half a million accounts held by Japanese citizens and companies at overseas financial institutions.
The move comes amid heightened public interest in how the wealthy use offshore havens to evade paying taxes at home. The Japanese agency will analyze the data in an effort to crack down on tax evasion.
The agency says that as of October 31st, it collected data on about 550,000 accounts in 64 countries and regions.
About 290,000 of the accounts were in Asia and Oceania, followed by around 202,000 in Europe and some 42,000 in North, Central and South America.
The data was provided to Japan through an information sharing system among tax authorities in more than 80 countries and regions.
Participants in the exchange include the Cayman Islands, Panama and Singapore, which are considered to be tax havens. The United States is not taking part.
