Tax Commission holds 5th meeting on the tax payment environment, publishing materials on "digitalization of businesses" and "responses to tax avoidance" (not yet decided)Talks on making tax procedures digital are moving along (nothing decided yet)
On October 20, 2026 (Reiwa 8), the Cabinet Office's Tax Commission held the 5th meeting of its Expert Meeting on Responding to the Digitalization of the Economy and Society and on Improving the Tax Payment Environment, and posted the meeting materials the same day. Besides the agenda, three explanatory documents were posted: the Ministry of Finance's "Tax reform and related measures in light of the discussions so far", the National Tax Agency's "Digitalization of tax procedures and digitalization of businesses", and a joint Ministry of Finance and National Tax Agency document on "Responses to tax avoidance and related matters". All of these are material for deliberation; no tax reform has been decided.
- ○Applies: The 5th meeting was held on October 20, 2026
- ○Applies: "Digitalization of tax procedures and digitalization of businesses" was presented as a National Tax Agency document
- ○Applies: "Responses to tax avoidance and related matters" was presented as a Ministry of Finance and National Tax Agency document
- ×Does not apply: It has been decided which procedures or rules will change, and how
Key points
- Both the meeting and the posting of the materials took place on October 20, 2026. The meeting is the "5th Expert Meeting on Responding to the Digitalization of the Economy and Society and on Improving the Tax Payment Environment"
- Three explanatory documents were posted. [De 5-1] Ministry of Finance explanatory material, "Tax reform and related measures in light of the discussions so far"
- [De 5-2] National Tax Agency explanatory material, "Digitalization of tax procedures and digitalization of businesses"
- [De 5-3] Ministry of Finance and National Tax Agency explanatory material, "Responses to tax avoidance and related matters"
- The documents themselves are PDFs whose contents could not be checked for this article, so no individual proposal is described here (what was checked is only the titles and dates shown on the list-of-materials page)
What to do in practice
- Read the three explanatory documents at the issuing agency to see the direction of the discussion, especially the digitalization expected of businesses themselves
- Watch whether a review of tax procedures appears in a future outline of tax reform
The government has a body called the Tax Commission that discusses how the rules on taxes should change. On October 20, 2026, the fifth meeting of one of its groups was held, and the materials used in the discussion were made public. The documents are titled "Digitalization of tax procedures and digitalization of businesses" and "Responses to tax avoidance and related matters". Nothing has been decided yet.
- 1. Talk it overExperts gather and discuss (this is where we are now)
- 2. Draw up a planThe government puts together a plan for changing the tax rules
- 3. It is decidedThe rules actually change only after the Diet decides
Points
- The meeting was held on October 20, 2026. It is still at the discussion stage and nothing is decided
- From the titles of the documents, you can tell that making procedures on the company side digital is being discussed
- How to deal with ways of unfairly reducing tax is also being discussed
What the words mean
- Tax Commission
- A government body that discusses how the rules on taxes should change
- tax avoidance
- Trying to reduce tax as far as possible by using gaps in the rules
- Cabinet Office (Tax Commission): Cabinet Office, Tax Commission: 5th Expert Meeting on Responding to the Digitalization of the Economy and Society and on Improving the Tax Payment Environment (October 20, 2026) — list of materials
- Cabinet Office (Tax Commission): Cabinet Office: Tax Commission
This article previews items that are still under consideration or only requested. Whether they will be adopted, and whether the content or timing will change, is not final. Please check the official source again once a decision is made.
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.