Nonresident Foreign Gamblers Will Not Pay Taxes on Casino Winnings in Japan

Akira Amari, Chairman of Liberal Democratic Party’s tax commission in Japan has confirmed that nonresident foreign visitors who gamble at country’s future integrated casino resorts will not be taxed.

In a move that should attract more offshore gamblers, Amari told the reporters after a closed-door meeting that employing the tax exemption based on International standards should be fine for Japan.

Compliance with the Standards

Amari also said…

…that “If no one comes to an IR we develop, then it will all be pointless. We need to keep with international norms.”

This no taxation plan will be included in the fiscal 2021 tax reform package, whose outline is due on December 10th. Japanese local citizens would be taxed the same way as money won through public sports and horseracing where income tax is taken if winnings exceed a certain amount.

Integrated resorts are yet to be built in Japan. However, the ed tax exemption, it is expected, will provide a driving force to operators that plan the project.

A Big Postponement

From October 2021…

…Japanese government will begin accepting formal applications from the municipalities and region who hope to win one of three integrated resorts licenses.

The city of Osaka, Wakayama Prefecture and Nagasaki Prefecture have declared the intention to bid.

The official bidding period was initially set for January 2021 through July 30th, but due to travel restrictions imposed throughout Asia to fight the spread of pandemic, Japan decided to postpone it for nine months. The situation made the collaboration between casino operators and candidate cities very difficult.

Source:

“Japan Confirms Tax-free Casino Winnings for Nonresident Foreign Gamblers”, sigma.com.mt, December 4th, 2020.