[Inspector Relief Project] Restoring the Iron Rule of Investigation: 'Question Immediately After Seizure' — Operational Reform to Protect Inspectors' Working Hours and Taxpayers' Money

The Global Union (National Tax Union) has officially launched an operational reform project aimed at improving the working environment of tax inspectors and protecting taxpayers' money.

This project is a groundbreaking policy proposal to restore the international standard iron rule of investigative and inspection agencies — "question immediately after seizure" — to the Reiwa era's tax inspection administration.

Starting Point — The Universal Iron Rule in Investigative and Inspection Agencies

There is a most fundamental iron rule shared by all investigative and inspection agencies worldwide: the principle that seizure/confiscation and questioning/inspection should be conducted in conjunction as quickly as possible.

Why is this iron rule universally shared? The reason is clear.

Firstly, because memories fade with time. Human memory rapidly loses details as days pass since an event. This is a universally established fact in psychology and cognitive science.

Secondly, because the risk of collusion increases with time. Subsequent coordination among involved parties, information transmission from third parties, and information sharing via social media, etc., contaminate initially independent memories and testimonies.

Thirdly, because the chain of custody of evidence is damaged over time. Deterioration of seized items over time, risks of tampering with digital evidence, and risks of loss accumulate in proportion to the retention period.

Therefore, when seizure or confiscation is carried out, investigative and inspection agencies are universally established to conduct intensive questioning and inspection immediately thereafter.

Manifest Operational Challenges — What Does Deviation from the Iron Rule Produce?

However, in the current field of tax inspection administration, this iron rule is not always thoroughly enforced. There are existing practices where specific questioning and inspection regarding seized items have not been conducted even two years after the seizure.

This deviation from the iron rule causes serious side effects for society as a whole.

Side Effect 1: Difficulty in Fact-Finding Due to Memory Fading

If one or two years pass after seizure, the memories of the involved parties will certainly fade. Vivid memories that should have been obtained immediately after seizure are lost, and even if questioning and inspection are conducted later, the involved parties can only respond with "I don't remember" or "I can't tell without looking at the records."

This is not a problem on the taxpayer's side, but a systemic loss directly linked to the efficiency of investigation and inspection itself.

Side Effect 2: Accumulation of Collusion and Information Contamination Risks

If a long period passes after seizure, opportunities for information exchange among involved parties regarding the case accumulate. This inevitably occurs as natural information transmission in human society, regardless of the malicious intent of the parties.

With intensive questioning immediately after seizure, involved parties can provide independent memories. However, questioning conducted two years later deals with memories that have already undergone various information contaminations, structurally lowering the accuracy of fact-finding.

Side Effect 3: Unnecessary Increase in Inspectors' Working Hours

Here lies the most important point of this project. That is, deviation from the iron rule unnecessarily inflates inspectors' working hours.

With intensive questioning immediately after seizure, inspectors can efficiently elicit vivid memories from involved parties and complete fact-finding in a short period.

However, in a prolonged investigation:

- Time repeatedly spent questioning to elicit faded memories - Time to re-evaluate the reliability of testimonies based on information contamination - Time to resolve contradictions in testimonies among involved parties one by one - Time required for long-term progress management and record management

These cumulatively burden inspectors' working hours. The longer an investigation takes, the fewer cases an individual inspector can handle, and the overall processing capacity of the organization decreases.

Side Effect 4: Unnecessary Increase in Taxpayers' Money

If inspectors' working hours unnecessarily increase, personnel costs naturally accumulate. Since inspectors' salaries are paid from taxpayers' money, prolonged investigations directly lead to an increase in public burden.

In other words, deviation from the iron rule of "question immediately after seizure" creates a triple loss:

- Deterioration of working environment for individual inspectors - Decrease in processing capacity for the inspection organization - Increase in tax burden for the public

This is a structure where no one benefits.

We Want to Save Our Inspectors

Here, we clarify the basic stance of this project.

Our union is genuinely concerned about the working environment of tax inspectors. Inspectors are respected public servants who perform crucial duties supporting the nation's financial foundation. If they are forced to work unnecessarily long hours, suffer stress, and are unable to fully utilize their abilities due to deviations from the iron rule of investigation, it represents a loss for society as a whole.

We urge the Director-General of the National Tax Agency and other members of the organizational command structure to recognize this point. That is, restoring the iron rule of investigation will improve the working conditions of inspectors.