Would you like to make 400 million yen ?

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
Benjamin Frankin - Works of Benjamin Franklin - 1789.


As plain as the nose on our face nothing changes.
I came across this interesting and slightly amusing article.
But no matter how amusing, she must be a clever
lady, with her use of foreign exchange.
I have only put in excerpts here so for the full article go to
The Yomiuri Shimbun site at the end of the article.
Four hundred million yen converts to 3.3 million US dollars.
My greatest chuckle came from the last line. Just love you Yukiko !

With thanks to - The Yomiuri Shimbun

'Woman hid 400 million yen made from forex trading'

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau has filed a complaint with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office against a housewife who allegedly failed to pay 130 million yen in taxes by not declaring 400 million yen in income earned through foreign exchange margin transactions over the three years to 2005, sources said Thursday.

Foreign exchange margin transactions are popular among individual investors as they can bring in high profits with a low initial investment. But many investors do not declare their earnings.

This is the first time an individual investor has been accused of not paying his or her taxes on such earnings.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The taxation bureau judged that Ikebe intentionally evaded taxes as she declared most of her earnings from commodity futures dealings, but did not file tax returns for money made through the margin transactions.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In foreign exchange margin dealings, investors buy and sell foreign currencies, making money from the fluctuation in value and interest rate differences.

Since investors can buy or sell foreign currency up to 100 times the value of the invested principal, they can potentially make a fortune--though at great risk.

With the yen lingering at a low level, the foreign exchange margin trading has become popular among investors, with annual transactions thought to total more than 300 trillion yen.

Ikebe refused to comment on the charges, but her husband said she had reflected on her wrongdoing and had revised her income declaration.

(Apr. 13, 2007)

THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN