The amount of undeclared income by wealthy people in Japan hit a new record in the year through June of this year at ¥98 billion ($657 million), the National Tax Agency said Wednesday.

The figure for affluent individuals, such as major real estate holders, rose 16.8% from the preceding year and accounted for about 10% of the total at ¥904.1 billion, up 25.5% from a year earlier.

An agency official said the overall increase was led by the undeclared income of affluent individuals mainly boosted by profits from their investments abroad amid a weak yen.

The agency looked into about 637,800 cases, higher than those probed in the year through June 2019 prior to the global spread of coronavirus infections.

The total amount of back taxes and penalties were also the highest ever at ¥136.8 billion, the agency said.

Among the wealthy income concealers, global investors did not declare ¥51.4 billion, up 37.4%, accounting for over 50% of the total undeclared amount.

By occupation, business management consultants hid ¥33.67 million per person, topping the list of income concealers for the second year in a row, followed by scrap metal wholesalers, at ¥24.83 million, amid material price spikes.

Animal breeders stayed third, at ¥20.75 million, and yakiniku barbecue restaurant owners came fourth, at ¥16.11 million.

Culled from Japan Times