Please find this month’s topics below. We hope they will be useful to you.
▼Taxation
Revision of Measures to Adjust the Tax Burden on Ultra-High Incomes
The “Measures to Adjust the Tax Burden on Ultra-High Incomes,” which have applied to individual income tax from the 2025 tax year, impose an additional income tax on individuals whose “standard income amount” (total income amount plus various types of separately taxed income) for the tax year exceeds 330 million yen, when the tax burden rate on the excess amount is 22.5% or lower.
Under the 2026 tax reform, the threshold for this measure will be lowered from 330 million yen to 165 million yen, and the tax burden rate will be increased from 22.5% to 30%.
The additional tax payable is calculated as ② ？ ① when ① is less than ②, as follows:
① Basic Income Tax Amount
② {Standard Income Amount ？ Special Deduction (165 million yen (currently 330 million yen))} × 30% (currently 22.5%)
The revised measure will apply from the 2027 tax year.
▼Labor Management
Amendments to the Enforcement Regulations of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act and the Guidelines on Equal Pay for Equal Work
Effective October 1, 2026, the Enforcement Regulations of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act, the Equal Pay for Equal Work Guidelines, and the Employment Management Guidelines concerning part-time and temporary workers will be amended. The purpose of these amendments is to ensure fair treatment regardless of employment status. Key amendments include the mandatory inclusion in the Notice of Employment Conditions of a statement indicating that employees “may request an explanation regarding differences in treatment compared to regular employees”; violations will be subject to a fine of up to 100,000 yen.
In addition, the criteria for determining the reasonableness of treatment differences have been clarified, and companies are required to ensure access to welfare facilities, promote the conversion of part-time and fixed-term employees to regular status, and respond appropriately to requests for explanations regarding treatment differences. Before the amendments take effect, companies must review their notices of employment conditions and work rules, examine bonuses, allowances, and employee benefits, refine their performance evaluation systems, and enhance their systems for converting part-time workers to regular employees. It is crucial to verify whether any unreasonable disparities in treatment exist and to establish a system capable of providing reasonable and appropriate explanations to employees.
Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, “Rules Regarding Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employees Are Changing (Effective October 1, Reiwa 8)”