OSAKA (TR) – The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau has filed a criminal complaint against the female manager of a takoyaki (grilled octopus) stand operating in Osaka City over alleged tax evasion, reports Fuji News Network (July 25).
Over a three-year period ending in 2016, Tatsuko Utsunomiya, 72, whose Miyamoto-chaya stand sits at Osaka Castle Park, allegedly evaded about 132 million yen in income tax by concealing 330 million yen in sales of takoyaki. The complaint was filed with the Osaka District Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.
According to persons with knowledge of the matter, the recent jump in the number of foreign tourists arriving in Japan has been a boon for business at Miyamoto-chaya. Sales of plates of takoyaki — currently priced at 600 yen for 8 dumplings — were an estimated 500 million yen over that three-year period, with about half of that figure coming in 2016 alone.
“I was busy due to the surge in tourists, and I did not notice that it was necessary to file a return,” Utsunomiya was quoted through a representative.
Including penalties, Utsunomiya is expected to be liable for a tax bill of around 150 million yen.
