The two things in life that are always guaranteed are death and taxes. Death can come out of nowhere, and it’s the most surprising ones that hurt us the most. Taxes, on the other hand, should never be a surprise. You have to file and pay your taxes every year at the exact same time, so you can’t really say that you didn’t see them coming. In Japan, if the government finds out that you are withholding money from them, trust that they will be coming to collect that cash. As one citizen found out, if you can’t pay them what you owe, they will just take away your precious collection of anime figures.
Officials from Sanyo-Onoda City in Yamanashi Prefecture probably didn’t think it would be a newsworthy day when they were sent to collect on some back taxes. They were likely looking for jewelry, watches, precious gems or some gold bars that were stashed away when they knocked on the culprit’s door. Unfortunately for the city’s repo men, they found none of those valuable items. Fortunately for “comedy that writes itself”, he had these beauties carefully on display.
An unlucky man’s figures were seized when he failed to pay his city taxes. His collection included 20 chase figures such as Ruri Goko the Kuroneko and Kosaka Kirino from My Little Sister Can’t Be this Cute, Lynn Minmei and Sheryl Nome from Macross, Code Black Kallen from Code Geass and an Azusa Nakano Guitar Elite version from K-On!!
While the collector had kept them all sealed and unopened in their original boxes, the city office had to check the contents of each seized anime figure and thus they are listed on Yahoo! Auctions as being opened once, or “used”.
Most Japanese Internet users didn’t have much sympathy for the tax evader, saying things like,
“It’s bad to default on taxes.”
“This happens occasionally, so the auction is open to the public.”
“This is what happens if you don’t pay your taxes. You will pay for your mistakes somehow.”
“He should have paid his fees before something like this happens.”
Since this was a public seizure, the city will be auctioning off the figures in order to recoup some of the money that is owed in taxes. Interested parties can apply to be part of the auction until October 13. The actual auction will start at 1 p.m. on October 19 and end at 11 p.m. on October 21. You can also visit the Sanyo-Onoda City Office on October 5 for an opportunity to view the items beforehand. The starting prices are pretty low, especially for figures of this quality, so if you are looking to add to your anime girl figure collection you might want to sign up for this unique auction. Just be sure to pay your taxes on your way out if you win any of the lots!
Source: Otakuma
Top Image: Flickr/Kevin Spencer (edited by RocketNews24)
Inset Images: Yahoo! Japan Kankocho Auction
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