Although it has been a long time since the hometown tax system was introduced, I find it an unacceptable system.
To be clear, I am not saying that it is wrong to make a donation to your hometown. If you make a donation, you are contributing to the community, and if it will help it grow, you should welcome it.
The problem with hometown taxation is that it encourages “free-riding” on the government services of the current place of residence. Please refer to the following article for more information.
Hometown Tax Payment (7) Free Rider Recommendation System (Japanese)
The idea is that taxpayers can donate to their hometowns in the form of taxes and receive gifts in return, but at the same time they are exempted from paying taxes in their current hometowns and have their inhabitant taxes reduced.
To begin with, what supports the government services in your current place of residence? They are supported by taxes collected in the place of residence. In other words, it is only natural that without the taxes of the current place of residence, it would be impossible to provide the administrative services that exist as a matter of course. Of course, if you cannot pay due to low income or welfare at the tax-exempt level, then there is no choice. The problem is not paying taxes when you have the money to pay them.
In exceptional cases, when there is a plausible reason, such as giving back to the region that raised you, it may be acceptable. However, the vast majority do so out of a desire for a return gift, which means that it is not acceptable for them to enjoy the same administrative services as those who paid taxes in their current place of residence. If this becomes the norm, it could lead to a reduction in government services.
Some of you may not be familiar with the idea of reducing government services. To give a few examples of government services, they include “taking out the garbage,” “using the library,” “using welfare services,” and so on. In any case, many of these services are so deeply rooted in our daily lives that if they were to disappear, they would be a hindrance to our daily lives. Is it right that they should be allowed to begrudgingly pay the taxes that fund them, while placing a burden on the local government of their current residence? This is nothing but a free ride on government services. If this is allowed to happen, local public safety and sanitation will collapse. This will lead to the devastation of the community and the failure of the local government.
So, what should be done to ensure the fair enjoyment of administrative services while paying hometown taxes? In my opinion, there should be a limit to the administrative services in the current place of residence for those who pay hometown tax.
For example, garbage can be taken out for an extra fee, libraries and other public facilities can be used for a fee, a surcharge is applied for procedures at government offices, etc., and an additional fee is charged for the use of welfare services, so that people pay a “service use fee” based on the amount they bear. In any case, policies should be implemented to contain free-riding.
If you do not like it, just move to your hometown where you pay taxes. In fact, most municipalities that offer tax payment services to their hometowns also provide emigration support. They say that prices are high in the city center, but prices are not so low in rural areas and even in the countryside; in fact, they are so high due to logistics costs.
It is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable for people to take services for granted while not bearing the burden themselves.
This is not a matter of “thinking” or “feeling” in a naïve and naïve way. It is not too much to assert, but rather too little to say. This is “the fact”, “the reality” and “the truth”. It’s not a matter of good or bad, it’s nothing more than a golden rule that can’t be described in any other way and has absolutely no room for doubt.