I just paid the fees for registering the building in my name. 233 thousand yen. Almost a quarter of a million yen. That's more than a month's salary for a lot of people.
Fifty thousand of this was tax. Stamps bought to keep the beaurocrats happy. You could argue that that is lot of tax, but to be honest as far as I'm concerned it's all tax. The fact that only 50,000 yen of it is going to real tax actually means that the tax collectors are only getting a quarter of what I'm paying. They are loosing 75% of it. Gross inefficiency.
I suppose I don't really begrudge the authorities duty and bureaucracy but it's a fair whack for an afternoon's work for a couple of lawyers.
Rogues and charlatans everywhere.
When we bought the land, the estate agents were taking a percentage for selling something they didn't even buy.
The architect charged to draw our ideas and then say they were his.
All the while the lawyers, accountants and tax collectors hover.
