ふるさと納税における地場産品のサプライチェーン構造と返礼品の価格形成過程 : 北海道の自治体を事例に

Furusaro Nozei (Hometown Tax Donation) System

北海道大学農經論叢

The purpose of this study is to clarify the structure of the supply chain and the price determination process for agricultural products within Japanʼs unique "Hometown Tax Donation" system. The Hometown Tax Donation system allows taxpayers to make donations to municipalities other than their place of residence, and in return, they receive benefits in the form of tax deductions and thank-you gifts (often food). The market size of this system is approximately 1 trillion yen, with about 150 billion yen accounted for by agricultural products, making it a promising new sales channel. However, there are many issues regarding tax fairness, leading to heated debates and making it difficult to consider it a permanent fixture. This study analyzes the systemʼs operational reality and attempts to elucidate the supply system for agricultural products. The analysis revealed that the workload of municipal staff causes a bottleneck in supply, leading to the outflow of benefits from the donor municipalities to outside regions. Furthermore, the strong price-setting power of IT businesses in regard to that workload could potentially erode producersʼ profits in the future. This study provides suggestions for the design of a stable and fair Hometown Tax Donation system.