What is Furusato Nozei
The Furusato Nozei Program, or Hometown Tax Donation Program, is a tax incentive scheme by the Japanese government to support the development of smaller, less funded municipalities.
Taxpayers can choose to donate to a city, prefecture, municipality or cause that they want to support, such as social and environmental programs and aid in times of disaster.
In return, taxpayers are exempted from a portion of their income and resident taxes and get to enjoy gifts such as wagyu, melons, sake and other premium local specialties delivered to them as a token of appreciation.
In brief, doing Furusato Nozei give you wonderful gifts※ and support the causes you believe in with your tax money at the same time.
※ Actually, the gifts cost 2,000 JPY, but the value of the gifts is far beyond this.