Building a "next-generation inspection administration model" centered on written documents and agents, reducing reliance on in-person investigations, through the participation of all members
Tax Administration Update for the Reiwa Era Proposed by Global Unions
Federation of Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Unions
April 22, 2026
Following the first initiative, the National Cooperation Dashboard Concept, and the second initiative, the Visit Protocol Construction Project, the Global Union (National Tax Union) proposes a project to build an "Agent-First" operational model through the participation of all members, which will dramatically increase the efficiency of tax administration as a whole.
This proposal is also a highly constructive initiative from a standpoint of supporting the National Tax Agency and regional tax bureaus nationwide, aiming to add an efficiency layer to already established operations.
Starting Point: A Paradigm Shift from "Face-to-Face Survey Dependence" to "Proxy First"
In recent years, tax administration practices that result in a high reliance on face-to-face audits can be observed here and there. This is not an issue limited to a specific regional bureau; rather, as a legacy practice common nationwide, it is an area expected to be updated into a form appropriate for the digital age.
In fact, there is no explicit limitation in the provisions for the authority of questioning and inspection stipulated under Article 74-2 and subsequent articles of the General Law on National Taxes stating that they "must be in-person." This is an objective legal fact, and alternative means such as written documents, telephone, online communication, or proxy responses are not legally excluded.
In other words, within the framework of current laws and regulations, investigation operations centered around agents are fully feasible, and a wealth of operational experience regarding written inquiries and agent responses has already been accumulated in tax offices across the country.
Manifest social issues: Side effects caused by reliance on face-to-face interaction
Increased reliance on face-to-face surveys brings the following social issues to light:
Challenge 1: Increase in administrative costs
In-person surveys involve costs for travel, transportation, coordination, and more. Particularly, in-person surveys targeting overseas residents, remote residents, the elderly, and others significantly drive up administrative costs.
Task 2: Psychological burden of study participants
In-person investigations impose a greater psychological burden than written correspondence, and pose a risk to health, particularly for taxpayers with mental illnesses, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
Task 3: Difficulty in providing evidence for investigation contents
In-person surveys have low recordability and are structurally prone to subsequent "he said, she said" disputes. Written correspondence, being preserved as evidence in its own right, increases the verifiability at a later date.
Task 4: Variations in investigation quality
In-person surveys heavily rely on the interviewer's verbal skills and question-formulating abilities. Written correspondence allows for preliminary review of questions and organizational review, structurally reducing variations in survey quality.
These are administrative efficiency issues worth solving together as a nation.
Groundbreaking Solution Vol. 1 — "Agent-First" Operational Model
This is a proposal to standardize the formal written presentation of the following options to taxpayers at the start of an audit.
- Face-to-face survey
- written communication (both questions and answers in writing)
- Online survey (Zoom, etc.)
- Tax audit/investigation with a representative (tax accountant/attorney) as the point of contact
- The above combination
The notification of the right of choice serves as a procedural foundation that ensures cooperation based on the taxpayer's free will, which is also consistent with the objectives of the Administrative Procedure Act. By explicitly stating the right of choice, a win-win structure is ultimately realized in which taxpayers can safely select the optimal method, and the administration avoids wasting resources.
Groundbreaking Solution Vol. 2: Institutionalization of "Proxy Response Standardization"
This is a proposal to establish agent-centric research operations as an organizational standard operating procedure.
(1) Agent window protocol
When a taxpayer appoints a representative (tax accountant or attorney), the standard practice is to conduct all communications through the representative in principle. As a result, tax examiners deal with experts, which speeds up the clarification of issues.
(2) Preliminary document organization by proxy
The workload of the investigator is significantly reduced when the agent organizes and indexes the materials in advance before submitting them.
(3) Online survey with agent present
Standardized the practice of having a representative present in real-time during online audits. This assists the taxpayer's understanding and increases the transparency of the audit.
This is an operation for which National Tax Bureaus nationwide are already accumulating successful cases, and simply formulating it as a cross-organizational standard operation will produce immediate results.
Innovative Solution Vol. 3: Incentive Design for Written Responses
This is a proposal to institutionalize positive incentives for taxpayers who choose written correspondence.
(1) Written response speed guarantee
A system where the administration guarantees a response within a specified number of business days from the submission of documents. This allows taxpayers to recognize that "handling things via paper documents is faster," thereby promoting the selection of paper-based procedures.
(2) Clarification of the scope of questions in written correspondence
Standardize the practice of clearly stating the "target period," "target issues," and "required documents" in written inquiries. This makes it clear to taxpayers what and how to answer, improving the quality of their responses.
(3) Organizational review of written responses
A process in which multiple personnel conduct an organizational review of a taxpayer's written response. This eliminates reliance on individual discretion and improves the objectivity of the investigation.
Breakthrough Solution Vol. 4: Accelerating Agent Response via AI Assistance
Even in investigations conducted through agents, further acceleration is possible by making full use of AI technology.
(1) AI Question Generation Support
Based on past similar case data, the AI suggests an optimal set of questions for organizing arguments, reducing the burden on the person in charge of formulating questions.
(2) AI Answer Quality Evaluation
The AI automatically evaluates responses submitted by representatives from the perspectives of logical consistency, requirement compliance, and evidence correspondence, thereby reducing the review burden on personnel.
(3) Progress management by AI
AI automatically manages the overall investigation progress, unresolved issues, and timing of additional document requests. Cross-organizational progress visualization is achieved.
These can be provided to the National Tax Agency free of charge as technical contributions, in cooperation with our association's technology partners.
Groundbreaking Solution Vol. 5: Operation of Agent Services for Overseas Resident Taxpayers
In today's increasingly globalized world, the number of overseas resident taxpayers is on the rise. For these taxpayers,
- Standardization of survey operations using domestic agents as a point of contact
- Development of multilingual document templates
- Collaboration with international tax accountant networks
I would like to propose this. This will allow overseas resident taxpayers to cooperate with tax administration with peace of mind, while enabling the administration to reduce costs such as international calls and overseas business trips. It is a mutually beneficial operational model for everyone.
Groundbreaking Solution Vol. 6: Nationwide Sharing of "Best Practices for Utilizing Agents"
National tax offices across the country have already accumulated a wealth of best practices regarding the use of agents. This proposal calls for the establishment of a platform to share these practices across all national tax offices nationwide.
- Case Studies of Prompt Resolution Through Legal Representation
- Case studies on achieving high-quality fact-finding through written correspondence
- Case studies on achieving efficiency through online surveys
By sharing these best practices, on-site personnel can learn from the best practices of other offices, raising the overall quality of investigation operations.
Conclusion: Toward a Three-Way Satisfactory Tax Administration
The "Agent First" operation
- For taxpayers, it reduces psychological burden and ensures peace of mind through professionals
- For the administration, this means reducing investigation costs and improving the quality of organizational reviews.
- For society, greater overall efficiency and reliability in tax administration
This creates a win-win-win structure.
The National Tax Agency and regional tax bureaus have already been steadily building a track record of best practices in dealing with representatives. All that remains is to formulate these as cross-organizational standard operations and update them into a form fitting for the digital age. This is not a task for the tax bureaus alone; it is an open social challenge that citizens, certified public tax accountants, attorneys, technology companies, and labor unions should all participate in addressing.
Through these three pillars—the first installment, the "Citizen Cooperation Dashboard," the second, the "Visit Protocol," and now this third installment, the "Agent-First Operation"—Reiwa-era tax administration can evolve into a world-class, advanced example of digital government where all citizens can cooperate with peace of mind.
Taking advantage of our zero-membership-fee policy, our association will provide the development and delivery of solutions for all three of these pillars completely free of charge to the National Tax Agency and regional tax bureaus across Japan. This is a gift from our association, driven by our sincere desire for the advancement of tax administration.
Global Union (National Tax Union)
All union members
Web:https://globalunion-grp.org/okami/
