Government Officials: Tax and Reform

government officials: The government plans to submit a bill to implement the reform to the ordinary Diet session expected to be convened later this month, according to The Japan Times. The reform is aimed at giving shareholders more leeway to analyze corporate earnings reports and stimulate dialogue between publicly owned companies and their shareholders. Under the ruling coalition's tax system reform outline for the fiscal year beginning April 1, corporate tax declarations can be filed within six months of the closing of annual accounts, against the current three months. Government officials said more open management that reflects shareholder opinions is likely to win greater trust for companies, more investor participation and higher stock prices. To meet the deadline for corporate tax declarations, many call shareholders meetings around June 20 to win approval for earnings-related documents and file tax declarations by the end of the month. Around 70 percent of Japanese companies close their annual books at the end of March. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.