今朝、女房と二人で久しぶり(しばらく隠岐に帰っていた為)に食卓を囲んだ。で、女房曰く、「お父さん最近ブログ書いてないね・・・何か話題見つかった?」 「何もない、なんかないかな?」、と応じるが早いか、あの話は?、この話は?・・・出るはでるは、次からつぎ ポン・ポン・ポン ・・・・。小生、ご飯を食べながら、うん、ウン、うん、と生返事・・・(何となく情景が思い浮かぶでしょう・・・・・)。何処の家庭でも、だいたいそんなものでは・・・。
そういえば、以前こんな事があった。
ある日の事、食卓を囲んで、女房がその日の出来事を事細かく話し出す、小生、適当に相槌をうちながら黙々と食事・・・、何も変わらぬ何時もの風景である・・・。ところが、その日にがぎって、女房が突然、「ねー、お父さんどう思う?」と質問を投げてきた。ウン・・・、「ねー、お父さんどう思う?・・・」、再度問いかける・・・しまった・・、適当に相槌はうっていたものの、その実、話は全く聞いてなく、他ごとを考えていたのだ・・・。
「何が・・・・」、「何がじゃ無いでしょう・・・私が大事な話ししているのに、あなた何も聞いてなかったんでしょう、 ほんとにモー・・・」 怒り心頭である。
小生曰く、「こんな時は質問するもんではない・・・」、 以後数日沈黙の日々、アットホームであったはずの我が家が、しばし針の筵であった。トホホ・・・・。
以後、たまにそうした事はあるにしても、出来るだけ話は聞くよう心掛けている。 世の亭主諸君・・ここが肝心なところですぞ。
今朝も適当に聞いてはいたものの、実はその中で面白い話がひとつあった。
それが、「お得な故郷納税」の話、 故郷納税をした人への各市町村のお返しが凄く凝っていて、しかも故郷納税の実質自己負担金(故郷納税は、寄付金控除の対象であり、故郷納税額を確定申告すると、その額が税金控除になる。通常、住民税の10%を自分が好きな市町村に納税し、その額を確定申告すると、それが控除されるため、納税者は実質的には数千円程度の負担にしかならない)より多額の商品が送られてきて、結果的に故郷納税した人が実利を得ることになるらしい。
岐阜県の某行政など、何のお返しもしなかった時は5人に満たない故郷納税であったらしいが、地場特産の豪華商品をお返しにするや、一挙に故郷納税額が10倍にもなったとか。従って、地場の商品目当てに縁も所縁もない人が、故郷納税をするケースも多くなっているとのこと。
極めて打算的で細かく、純粋な故郷納税の趣旨には合わないかも知れないが、少なくとも喜ばれこそすれ嫌がられる事はない。三方良し、とまではいかなくとも、二方良し、は間違いなし。
皆さん、故郷納税制度をもっともっと有効活用しましょう!!
「お得なふるさと納税」でパソコン検索すると、面白くヒントになる記事が満載。その一例・・・
「ふるさと納税」で各地の特産品ゲット!寄付のお礼に自治体がプレゼント
2008年にスタートしたころに比べて最近は話題になることが少ない「ふるさと納税」が、実は大変お得なことになっているらしい。各自治体が獲得競争に力を入れ、寄付してくれた人に地元の特産品などどっさり送ってくれるのだ。寄付は所得税や地方税に控除対象となるから、ほとんど負担はなく各地の美味しいものを楽しむことができる。
カニ、ステーキ肉、お米、お酒、宿泊券…
ふるさと納税をするとどんなものが送られてくるかというと―。肉、魚介、野菜、米、加工食品、酒、米、くだものなどの食料品はもちろん、アクセサリーや化粧品、地元イベントや観光地のチケットや宿泊券など、まあ、なんでもあって、しかも好きなものをチョイスすることができる。たとえば、1万?3万円を鳥取県に寄付をすると松葉ガニの大きいのが1杯、宮崎県ならステーキ肉2枚、北海道むかわ市なら無添加ソーセージ、佐賀県なら真鯛…といったものが選べるのだ。地方自治体が,全体の半分以上になっているからだ。
都内に住む按田さんはこの制度を利用して、今年も10自治体に寄付をした。冷蔵庫の中は地方から贈られてきた特産品がいっぱい。「これは静岡の磐田市から贈られてきたウナギのかば焼きの冷凍品。こっちは北海道浦幌町からのジンギスカンとソーセージの詰め合わせ、岡山の津山市からはたこ焼き器をいただきました。地元にメーカーがあるそうなんです。
ある市長さんからはお礼の手紙もいただきました。税金を払ってお礼を言われたことなかったので、感激しました」
マーこんな調子である。しかも、故郷納税額は控除対象なのだから、少し面倒だが確定申告さえすれば、その納税額は還付され、しかも、郷土の特産品が感謝の言葉と共にゲットできるのである。
This morning, my wife and I had a meal together for the first time in a while (because we had been back in Oki). And my wife said, “Dad, you haven’t been writing a blog lately…have you found anything to talk about? Nothing, is there anything there? I’m not sure if you’re ready for that or not. What’s the story? One comes out, one comes out, the next, pong pong pong….. While I was eating rice, I replied, “Yes, yes, yes, yes”…(You can imagine the scene somehow…) That’s pretty much how it is in every family…
Come to think of it, I’ve had this happen before.
One day, around the table, the wife begins to talk about the event of the day in detail, I, eating silently while giving a proper gesture. However, that day, my wife suddenly asked me, “Well, what do you think of your father? and posed a question. Um…. “Hey, Dad, what do you think? I’m not sure what to do, but I’ve been thinking about other things, not listening to the conversation at all.
What the hell…?” “What the hell not… I was talking to you about something important and you didn’t listen to me, you really didn’t listen to me, you really didn’t listen to me.
As I said, “You shouldn’t ask questions at a time like this…”, and after a few days of silence, our home, which was supposed to be a homely place, was often a bed of needles. Toh-oh-oh…..
From then on, I try to listen to them as much as possible, even though I have done so occasionally. Husbands of the world…this is the important part.
There was actually one interesting story among them, although I listened to it appropriately this morning as well.
In addition to the fact that each municipality has a very elaborate way of giving back to those who have paid their taxes in their hometowns, they also have to pay their own taxes (the hometown tax is a deductible donation, and if you file a tax return for your hometown, the amount of the hometown tax is a tax deduction. Normally, if you pay 10% of your residential tax to the city or town of your choice and file a tax return, the taxpayer will receive a deduction for that amount, so the taxpayer will effectively only have to pay a few thousand yen), and as a result, the person who paid the tax in their hometown will get the benefit.
When a certain administration in Gifu Prefecture did not give anything in return, less than five people paid tax in their hometown, but when they gave a luxury product of a local specialty in return, the amount of tax paid in their hometown suddenly increased tenfold. Therefore, there are many cases where people who are neither related to nor interested in local products pay tax in their hometowns.
It may be extremely calculating and meticulous, and not in accordance with the pure purpose of taxation in my hometown, but at least I won’t be displeased, if at all. It may not be a three-way street, but it’s definitely a two-way street.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s make more and more use of the hometown tax system!
If you do a PC search for “great deals on Furusato tax payments,” you’ll find plenty of interesting articles that will give you tips. For example…
Get local specialties from all over the world with “Furusato Tax Payment”! Municipalities give away gifts in appreciation of donations
Compared to when it started in 2008, the “Furusato Tax Payment” has become less of a hot topic of conversation recently, and it seems that it has actually become a very profitable program. Each municipality is in a competition to win the prize, and will send a variety of local products to those who donate. Donations are deductible for income tax and local tax, so you can enjoy delicious food in various places with little burden.
Crab, steak, rice, liquor, accommodation vouchers…
What kind of things will be sent to you when you pay your hometown tax? Meat, seafood, vegetables, rice, processed foods, liquor, rice, fruit and other foodstuffs, as well as accessories, cosmetics, tickets to local events and sightseeing spots, and lodging tickets…well, you can choose anything you want. For example, if you donate 10,000 to 30,000 yen to Tottori Prefecture, you can choose one large Matsuba crab, two steaks in Miyazaki Prefecture, additive-free sausages in Mukawa City, Hokkaido, or sea bream in Saga Prefecture. This is because local governments are more than half of the total.
Ms. Ajita, who lives in Tokyo, used this program to donate to 10 municipalities this year. The refrigerator is full of local specialties that have been gifted from the region. This is a frozen eel barbecue given to me by Iwata City in Shizuoka. This one is an assortment of Genghis Khan and sausages from Uraphoro, Hokkaido, and a takoyaki machine from Tsuyama City, Okayama. I heard that there is a local manufacturer.
We even received a letter of thanks from one mayor. I was thrilled because I had never been thanked for paying taxes before.
Ma is in such a state. Moreover, since the amount of tax payment from your hometown is deductible, if you file a tax return, you will be able to get a refund of the tax payment and get a special product of your hometown with a word of thanks.