Donations soar via hometown tax break Tsunami-hit prefectures rake in ¥335 million since March 11 via Japan Times Online

Fukushima — Donations to local governments via a tax incentive that encourages people to contribute to their hometowns while living elsewhere have soared in the three months since the March 11 earthquake, totaling about ¥335.2 million in the three most hard-hit prefectures, according to a Kyodo News tally.

The amount received by the prefectural governments of Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi through the hometown tax system between March 11 and June 10 was about 95 times that of the ¥3.5 million logged in the whole of fiscal 2009. The grand total would likely be even higher if the tally included amounts received at municipal levels.

The “furusato nozei” scheme enables taxpayers to donate money to any specific prefectural or municipal government and receive in exchange, in most circumstances, almost an equivalent deduction in their resident and income taxes. Introduced in May 2008, it was aimed to divert tax payments from urban areas to the financially strapped rural countryside.

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Donations soar via hometown tax break
Tsunami-hit prefectures rake in ¥335 million since March 11