BEIJING, Oct. 31 -- From Thursday, foreigners and
overseas Chinese in the southern city of Guangzhou will have to declare their
personal income for tax purposes.
According to a new regulation on income tax, all
foreign workers will be asked to declare their earnings regardless of the length
of time they have spent working in the city.
Overseas Chinese and people from Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan will also be required to make declarations.
For those working for a local company, the
responsibility to declare earnings will be with the employer. Those working on a
self-employed or freelance basis will be required to make their own tax
declarations.
Li Jing, an official with Guangzhou local taxation
bureau, said foreign workers with local firms or social organizations should
produce different documents to those required from freelance and self-employed
workers, and people who derive income from a "one-off" event.
The rule will apply to all foreign workers, including
teachers and researchers, she said.
"Those who fail to submit their income tax
declarations on time will be fined between 2,000 yuan (270 U.S. dollars) and
10,000 yuan. Those who attempt to falsify their returns will be fined up to
50,000 yuan," Li said.
She said the regulation seeks to better regulate the
collection of income tax and stamp out tax evasion by foreign workers.
Authorities have established a computerized records
system and since May, have been urging businesses to set up files for all their
foreign workers to allow tax collectors easy access to detailed information on
income tax payments, Li said.
Ma Shizhao, an analyst with the Guangdong provincial
local taxation research society, said all foreigners who make their livings in
Guangzhou should pay an appropriate amount of tax. Based on his own research, he
said there are still serious problems associated with tax declarations.
In the Guangzhou Development District, for example,
which is home to many foreign-funded firms, Ma said about 45 percent of foreign
employees declared their monthly incomes as below 20,000 yuan.
(Source: China Daily)
