Oh man, life in Japan can be complicated! Being an American means I have to file taxes in two countries, and that’s stressful. I don’t mind paying my taxes. I mind having to prove I did. In the US, I would always claim zero dependents and get a nice big fat tax return and in Japan you can do the same thing! They think it is really weird to not limit the amount of taxes you pay every way you can, but I love getting a tax return. When I was poor, getting a tax return meant that I had money no one in my life knew about, and I could secretly splurge. I know last week I said I didn’t have secrets, but I should have said except for money and who I voted for. Now I tell people who I voted for, but I am still a little secretive about money, but I guess now one of my money secrets is out.

I learned all about Japan and taxes by opening my business and having employees. Chad learned all about taxes by being an employee and the Internet. In Japan, every business owner is advised to hire a business accountant to help with taxes because they are a bit complicated. When you are a full-time employee, your job takes care of all of your tax stuff and you don’t even need to go down to the revenue office. If you are not a full-time employee, a lot of places make you take care of your taxes yourself. In Japan, there is city tax, prefectural tax, and national tax. Being from California, that just feels like state and federal tax to me. I do know that if you are a foreigner you can be deported over tax issues. I am not a tax expert, though, so please do not take anything I say as tax advice in any way. I don’t know why I have taxes on the brain in July. I think this blog is a lot like our podcast, where I just talk about whatever is on my mind. I hope you guys are into it. I know I’m having a lot of fun writing it.