Wakayama - More than half of the religious corporations investigated for operating temple lodgings and religious training programs at World Heritage-listed Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture were found to have failed to declare income totaling more than 100 million yen, according to findings by the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau.
The bureau last year investigated more than a dozen of roughly 50 religious corporations at Mount Koya as part of an effort to examine the operation of temple lodgings and religious training experiences.
The investigation found undeclared income at more than half of the organizations surveyed, with the total exceeding 100 million yen.
At Soji-in, located next to Kongobuji Temple, investigators also found that members of the chief priest's family had used income from the temple lodging and other sources for private expenses over the three years from 2022.
The taxation bureau treated the payments as concealed salary and found that about 90 million yen in income had not been subject to proper withholding tax.
Soji-in was reportedly ordered to pay about 40 million yen in additional taxes, including a heavy penalty tax.
Religious corporations are exempt from tax on income related directly to religious activities, such as offerings from worshippers. However, commercial operations conducted for profit, including temple lodging businesses, are subject to taxation.
Source: FNN
