脱税

• Reading: だつぜい
• Romaji: datsuzei
• Kanji breakdown: 脱 (datsu) — escape, shed, evade; 税 (zei) — tax
• Pronunciation: /datsɯzeː/

Meaning

Tax evasion; illegal avoidance of tax obligations.

A compound of 脱 (escape, shed) and 税 (tax). 脱税 refers specifically to illegal concealment of income or assets to avoid taxation, as distinct from 節税 (tax avoidance through legal means). It is a criminal offence under Japanese law, prosecuted by the National Tax Agency. High-profile 脱税 cases frequently appear in the news involving corporations and entertainers.

Examples

1. その企業の経営者は数億円の脱税で逮捕された。 The CEO of that company was arrested for tax evasion involving hundreds of millions of yen.
2. 海外口座を利用した脱税の摘発件数が増加している。 The number of tax evasion cases detected involving overseas bank accounts is increasing.
3. 脱税は社会全体への裏切り行為だという認識が広まっている。 The awareness that tax evasion is a betrayal of society as a whole is spreading.

Usage Guide

Context: law, economics, news, corporate crime

Tone: negative

Origin & History

Compound of 脱 (datsu) — to escape, shed, get out of, and 税 (zei) — tax. The same 脱 character appears in 脱出 (escape) and 脱走 (desertion), conveying the sense of illicitly slipping free from an obligation.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: General