Kitakyushu City's Advanced Equipment Introduction Plan: Property Tax Relief for Equipment Introduced by March 31, 2027Get the city's approval before buying a new machine, and your tax may go down
Kitakyushu City certifies plans in which small and medium-sized businesses aim to raise labor productivity through equipment investment (advanced equipment introduction plans). Certification brings a property tax special measure and financial support. The new property tax relief applies to equipment introduced between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027, and certification must be obtained before the equipment is acquired.
- 1. PlanGet prior confirmation from a support organization
- 2. ApplyApply to Kitakyushu City (screening takes about two weeks)
- 3. CertifiedReceive the city's certification
- 4. AcquireIntroduce the equipment after certification
Key points
- The plan must raise labor productivity by an average of 3% or more per year versus the base year. To use the property tax relief, the return on investment must also average 5% or more per year
- The plan period is 3, 4 or 5 years. Requirements include prior confirmation by a certified management innovation support organization and writing a wage-increase policy into the plan and explaining it to employees
- Eligible are SMEs under the SME Business Strengthening Act investing in the city. The property tax relief applies to corporations with capital of JPY 100 million or less (excluding subsidiaries of certain large companies) and sole proprietors with 1,000 or fewer employees. No unpaid city taxes is also required
- Equipment covered by the new property tax relief is introduced between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2027. Equipment introduced before certification is excluded, so certification is needed before acquisition
- The counter is open on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Screening is said to take about two weeks
What to do in practice
- Start the certification procedure before ordering or acquiring the equipment
- Ask a certified support organization (for example, your tax accountant) for the prior confirmation
- Confirm the conditions of the property tax relief and the accounting treatment with your advisers
If a company makes a plan to bring in new machines to get more work done in the same time and the city approves it, the tax on the machines (property tax) can become lighter. What matters is getting approval before buying the machines.
- ○Applies: You introduce the equipment after certification
- ○Applies: The investment is made in the city
- ×Does not apply: You apply afterward for equipment already introduced
- ×Does not apply: You have unpaid city taxes
Points
- If the city approves the company's plan, taxes may go down
- Buying first is too late. Get approval before you buy
- The plan must also include a policy to raise pay, explained to employees
What the words mean
- Property tax
- A tax charged every year on land, buildings and company machinery
- Labor productivity
- How much value each worker produces
- City of Kitakyushu: Kitakyushu City: Application for certification of advanced equipment introduction plans
This article summarizes and explains materials published by government agencies and is not advice on any individual case. Rules can change, so for actual procedures and decisions always check the latest original materials and consult professionals such as tax accountants or labor and social security attorneys. English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese versions are translations prepared from the Japanese articles for convenience. If anything differs, the Japanese text and the original source take precedence.