Forum - View topicINTEREST: Manga Artists, VTubers Fear Japan's New Invoice System Invites Loss of Privacy
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11348 |
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I don't quite get what this is for, but can't they assign an alphanumberic ID to these people for the public database? The name/number key could then be kept private.
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Tempest
 I Run this place.ANN Publisher  Posts: 10420 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Can anyone see all the invoices an individual issues? That's not only "private
" information, but also "confidential." Making it public could have adverse effects on one's business. As a freelancer or business person, I wouldn't want my competition (or even my customers), being able to make a list of all my customers and exactly how much each customer spends. |
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SHD
Posts: 1752 |
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It's weird that ANN reports about this only now, mangaka I follow on Twitter have been up in arms about it for months at this point.
Anyway, yes, this is quite incredible, and I really can't comprehend the reasoning behind it. Or rather, I understand that it's probably an effort to crack down on corruption and tax evasion, but holy crap this is not the way to go about that! From business confidential info to downright breach of personal privacy, I just can't wrap my mind about how anyone could have thought this was a good idea. Last edited by SHD on Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Lo Wang
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This will have Vtuber companies moving their HQs to the west or China.
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Hoppy800
 Posts: 3331 |
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This is something Akamatsu needs to address if he hasn't already like some mangaka have already done. It's one oversight that can have tragic consequences, since antis might use that tax info to track the Vtuber talents down for everything under the sun and I doubt it will be harmless things like pizza deliveries.
Last edited by Hoppy800 on Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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RoverTX
 Posts: 424 |
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Do they not have Tax IDs that are linked to a incorporated business or person? If not how does their tax system even work?! |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4426 |
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Considering how some people can be, a name might be plenty to get them started on finding the rest of the information.
This strikes me as one of those things that is meant to deal with a problem, but compliance ends up making things harder for people that already followed the rules. |
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Tempest
I Run this place. ANN Publisher Posts: 10420 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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It's not that simple. It's very complicated to move a company to another country. Potential taxes on asset sale/transfer (Company "A" can't just give all it's assets to Company "B" in another country for free). Once they move, these companies do so much business in Japan that they would need to maintain a "branch office" (a kind of Japanese company owned by a foreign company) to handle their affairs in Japan. Deals between Japanese contractors (eg: freelance voice actors and VTubers) would be expected to be handled by the Branch Office, so they would then still be required to use the Qualified Invoice System. It's almost impossible to erase your corporate presence in a country and still do business in that country. Rather than moving the existing company, setting up an overseas production studio as a sister company or subsidiary might be possible. But Japanese law might have rules in place requiring that business between Japanese entities and subsidiaries of Japanese entities be handled in accordance with Japanese law. Basically a law that makes it hard for companies to try to evade Japanese rules/taxes by setting up foreign entities. -t |
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Tempest
I Run this place. ANN Publisher Posts: 10420 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Setting up a company might be the best way to deal with this, but I have no idea how common/feasible it is for Japanese freelancers to incorporate. -t |
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Random Name
Posts: 644 |
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This reminds me of when Blizzard wanted to change their forums to use real names saying there was no risk. An employee even posted his own name and I'm betting you can guess what happened next.
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2258 Location: Online Terminal |
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I assume incorporating will result in additional taxes paid because they also are a business now? My brain keeps thinking "Stamps?" but even if that is a potential solution, I don't know if that would solve the problem in a way that just not publicizing the records would. (Also why does there need to be a nationalized invoice system, anyway?) |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2189 |
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ID-tagged Vtubers interviewing ID-tagged mangakas...
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Tempest
I Run this place. ANN Publisher Posts: 10420 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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I'm not familiar with Japanese corporate taxes, but most countries have systems in place to avoid double taxation. Incorporating usually doesn't lead to significant extra taxes, and can open up lots of opportunities for tax planning. It does however create extra accounting and filing headache and costs. |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4469 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I think the vast majority of manga I read these days are from mangaka or manga circles/duos who are only known by their pseudonyms, mangaka like Atto (Non Non Biyori), Wakame Konbu (The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated), Nanashi (Nagatoro), Barasui (Ichigo Mashimaro), and many others.
One particular manga duo who I think must be dreading this new system are Nico Tanigawa, the pen name for the male writer ("Ikko") and female artist ("Niko") who created WataMote/No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!. The artist, "Niko", in particular has severe social anxiety (like Tomoko in the manga) to the point that, from what I understand, she couldn't handle going to more than one production meeting when Silver Link was working on the anime adaptation, and she doesn't even want people to know what she looks like so she and "Ikko" famously once wore cat masks at a public appearance. I hope that their privacy can still be preserved. |
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aereus
Posts: 574 |
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This is a stupid idea, but a likely solution is hiring a middleman agency to do all the invoicing for you, so their name is on it instead of yours. Unfortunately that's another bill to pay then, not to mention the consumption tax. IMHO much like the "Go out and drink more!" statement last month, this comes down to the Japanese gov't wanting to increase tax revenues. So they're removing the tax-exempt status of creatives through this scheme. Compounding the issue with flippant disregard for personal privacy and safety. |
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