The amount of undeclared income by wealthy people in Japan hit a new record in the year through June this year at 98 billion yen ($657 million), the National Tax Agency said Wednesday.
The figure for affluent individuals, such as major real estate holders, rose 16.8 percent from the preceding year and accounted for about 10 percent of the total at 904.1 billion, up 25.5 percent from a year earlier.
An agency official said the overall increase was led by the undeclared income of affluent individuals mainly boosted by profits from their investments abroad amid a weak yen.
The agency looked into about 637,800 cases, higher than those probed in the year through June 2019 prior to the global spread of coronavirus infections.
The total amount of back taxes and penalties were also the highest ever at 136.8 billion yen, the agency said.
By occupation, management consultants topped the list for the second consecutive year with an average undeclared income of 33.67 million yen.
