“Furusato Nozei: Yokkaichi City Holds Rally to Boost Hometown Tax Donations”

On May 31, Yokkaichi City in Mie Prefecture, which is struggling with hometown tax donations, gathered businesses in the city under the slogan “Create together, benefit together,” in an attempt to reverse the offensive. Yokkaichi City Hometown Tax Rally Rally Business Opportunities Are Here” was held. At the venue, the Yokkaichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hall, there were about half and half of existing return gift businesses and businesses interested in exhibiting in the future. About 130 people, including those involved, filled the venue.[Mayor Tomohiro Mori appeals for cooperation with the hometown tax payment = Suwa Town, Yokkaichi City]

In 2021, Yokkaichi City will have a deficit of about 800 million yen, the difference between the amount donated to the city of about 50 million yen and the amount donated by citizens to other local governments of about 850 million yen. For municipalities that receive local allocation tax, 75% will be covered by the national government, but Yokkaichi City is a municipality that does not receive it, so it is said that the 800 million yen will directly reduce revenue.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Mori said, “At first, I was against the gift competition, but I’ve come to think that as long as this system continues, we can’t overlook it.” Looking at hometown tax donation as a business, it is said to be comparable to the market, which is expanding 1.2 to 1.3 times a year. complained. “If possible, I would like to prepare a new lineup in the fall and go to the competition at the end of the year, which is the biggest sales season,” he said. (Mayor Tomohiro Mori appealing to participating businesses)

After that, Mr. Koichiro Kusaka, a strategic producer of Furusato Nozei and City Promotion, who was recruited by Yokkaichi City, took the podium and introduced the current state of Furusato Nozei, trends in the gifts that are selected, and countermeasures. The hometown tax donation market is expected to grow to a scale of 1 trillion yen in the near future, and it is necessary to respond to online shopping purchasing behavior. I explained with an actual example that the correspondence determines the success or failure.

Mr. Kusaka introduced his visit to Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, which ranks 5th in the country in terms of hometown tax donation amount. Izumisano City is not blessed with local products, but the government has established rules that allow it to be recognized as a local product, such as purchasing beef from the United States and processing it in the city, and purchasing shrimp from Southeast Asia and processing it in the city. He introduced that he is devising ways to make use of it, such as arranging gifts as gifts. The amount donated by Izumisano City in fiscal 2021 is approximately 13 billion yen. Yokkaichi City is currently about 50 million yen, but he said, “In fact, there is a lot of room for growth.”

The city of Yokkaichi is said to be waiting for consultations from business operators interested in registering gifts for hometown tax donations. For inquiries, contact the Hometown Tax Promotion Office, Public Relations and Marketing Division, Yokkaichi City (059-354-8525).