Summary
Lesson learned: Changes to Japan’s Consumption Tax law could cause talent to leave the manga and anime industry, endangering studios and businesses. The new tax puts additional financial pressure on artists, assistants, voice actors and other freelancers. The law change was opposed by many in the entertainment industry, but registrations increased despite the dissatisfaction.
Japan made controversial changes to its consumption tax laws in early October, which experts fear could lead to the expulsion of talent from the industry. story And cartoon industry. Artists, assistants, voice actors and other freelancers now face more financial pressure. In the worst case scenario, this could lead to one in four workers leaving the business, which could endanger many studios and businesses across the board.
According to a report from Anime News Network, Japan’s Consumption Tax (JCT) will bill income tax starting this month. This effectively eliminates the informal immunity that gig workers and other small businesses already have. Despite previous protests from the entertainment industry that the change would lead to countless businesses going bankrupt, JCT’s change went ahead anyway. According to manga creator Reon Yutaka, 20.6% of manga creators who responded to a survey on the topic feared these changes would lead to bankruptcy. Last year, the advocacy group STOP! Bill livestreamed a press conference full of entertainment industry lobbyists opposing the change.
One in five manga artists could go bankrupt due to JCT’s changes
The JCT exemption was initially an arrangement intended to protect the day-to-day operations of businesses with a turnover of less than 10 million yen by providing a buffer; Nearly 60% of comic assistants have an income of less than 2 million. The JCT’s new changes aim to collect more taxes to improve the economy. However, critics see this change as a fatal blow to entertainment industries such as anime and manga. Not only will taxes put more pressure on the income of artists and assistants, but workers may also have to spend more to hire accountants to confirm their reports.
Artists and assistants aren’t the only ones at stake: 76% of voice actors earn less than 3 million yen per year, and a third of them responded that the tax bill could put them out of business. property, while others informed of these changes were told that they would not be threatened. be hired or paid in full without registering a taxable business. Filing the bill also means giving up privacy as a real name is required and will be registered in a public database. This can also scare away artists who want to remain anonymous. Representative Yoshinori Suematsu said that nearly 5 million people could be negatively affected by this law.
This change in the law is puzzling, as surveys show most respondents reject the proposal, including Suematsu and 55 other politicians. Even so, registrations increased in response. Hiroshi Someya, director of planning at the tax bureau, argued that tweaking the law is possible in future policies. The question is whether these adjustments will be made in a timely manner, or whether politicians will be willing to wait for the damage to happen before they make changes. Either way, raising taxes on a beleaguered workforce doesn’t bode well for artists, assistants, and other freelancers working in anime and television. story business.
Source: Anime News Network
