 | As Japan prepares to raise the consumption tax for the first time in half a decade next year, many feel gold smuggling will also get a boost. When the tax was last increased in 2014, to 8% from 5%, smuggling of gold jumped as criminals quickly realized how to game the system. Hong Kong does not tax gold. Buyers can use mules and the tax component becomes pure profit. |  With the consumption tax set to rise to 10% in October 2019, margins will grow even fatter for criminals. |
 | Japan is considered the "go-to place" for gold smugglers. In 2017 seized gold amounted to 6,236 kg, a 47-fold increase. Japan even exported 215 tons of gold in 2017, despite being a producer of only tens of tons domestically. That was almost double the 114 tons exported in 2014. |  The scale of smuggling is said to exceed 150 tons. |
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