https://www.scmp.com/rss/77651/feed A capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax on capital gains, the profit realised on the sale of a non-inventory asset that was purchased at a lower price. The most common capital gains are realised from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals and property. Not all countries implement a capital gains tax and most have different rates of taxation for individuals and corporations. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Xinyi Wu Xinyi Wu When a friend received a text message from the mainland Chinese tax authorities asking her to ensure that all her declared income – including income from abroad – was accurate, Fan, a finance professional who asked that her full name not be used, was shocked. Her friend was now coordinating with the authorities to settle the outstanding taxes on her overseas trading, she said, adding that “there is no alternative but to comply” with such texts and that the incident had left her on guard about... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349257/how-china-tax-crackdown-undeclared-overseas-income-targeting-retail-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349257/how-china-tax-crackdown-undeclared-overseas-income-targeting-retail-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Apr 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Hong Kong has signed a comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreement (CDTA) with Norway, marking its fourth such pact this year as the city steps up efforts to strengthen its appeal as an international business and investment hub. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu signed the agreement with the Government of the Kingdom of Norway in Beijing on Tuesday. Hui had visited Norway to discuss the matter in June. Under the agreement, Hong Kong residents who... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3336653/hong-kong-signs-tax-treaty-norway-marking-fourth-such-agreement-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3336653/hong-kong-signs-tax-treaty-norway-marking-fourth-such-agreement-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:47:08 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang A unit of PetroChina Investment (Hong Kong) has become the first approved company to reincorporate in the city under a new law, with the government highlighting the high number of inquiries it has received from companies seeking to redomicile. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) said on Wednesday that the PetroChina Investment unit received a certificate of re-domiciliation from the Companies Registry. This marks the first such case after the government introduced the company... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3329975/petrochina-unit-first-reincorporate-hong-kong-under-re-domiciliation-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3329975/petrochina-unit-first-reincorporate-hong-kong-under-re-domiciliation-law?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:43:22 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Two listed companies under China Resources Group are planning to redomicile from the Cayman Islands to Hong Kong, marking the first batch of listed companies to reincorporate in the city under a new law, with analysts believing the trend will continue. China Resources Beverage (Holdings), the country’s second-largest water bottler under the brand C’estbon, has proposed to redomicile from the Cayman Islands to Hong Kong to reduce operating costs, according to a stock exchange filing late Friday... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3327085/listed-china-resources-units-plan-redomicile-hong-kong-part-global-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3327085/listed-china-resources-units-plan-redomicile-hong-kong-part-global-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Sep 2025 07:37:14 +0000 Denise Tsang,Ambrose Li Denise Tsang,Ambrose Li Hong Kong has not gone far enough to create sources of income to plug its deficit, analysts have said, after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po shied away from broadening the tax base and forecast another year of government shortfalls and dwindling fiscal reserves. Delivering his annual budget on Wednesday, Chan said the deficit would be HK$87.23 billion (US$11.2 billion) for the current financial year and HK$67 billion for the following one. The city last recorded a budget surplus in... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3300257/call-hong-kong-tackle-long-taboo-topic-new-taxes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3300257/call-hong-kong-tackle-long-taboo-topic-new-taxes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:03:27 +0000 This year’s proliferation of democratic elections, combined with the largely unfunded costs of the global polycrisis, has led to an upwelling of calls from countries worldwide to raise taxes on the rich. The mood is the same, whether among US Democrats ahead of November’s presidential elections, in the office of the UK’s newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves as she prepares her autumn budget or with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has recently joined Brazilian President... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3278355/why-global-tax-super-rich-least-bad-option-tackle-crises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3278355/why-global-tax-super-rich-least-bad-option-tackle-crises?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:30:08 +0000 In recent decades, the availability of preferential tax regimes and tax havens has deprived governments worldwide of huge amounts of revenue. According to the EU Tax Observatory, multinational corporations shifted US$1 trillion – the equivalent of 35 per cent of all the profits booked outside their headquarter countries – to tax havens in 2022. Meanwhile, super-rich individuals faced very low effective tax rates, equivalent to just 0-0.5 per cent of their total collective wealth. The problem is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3272909/how-global-tax-negotiations-can-improve-fairness-and-transparency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3272909/how-global-tax-negotiations-can-improve-fairness-and-transparency?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2024 08:30:12 +0000 Earlier this year, before China announced its target economic growth of around 5 per cent for the year at the “two sessions” parliamentary meetings in March, I had forecast a range of between 5 per cent and 5.5 per cent – a range rather than a point forecast because of the uncertainties China and the world face. My forecast was based in part on the target growth rates announced by the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland. Based on the gross domestic... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3268739/education-taxes-how-china-can-boost-demand-and-drive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3268739/education-taxes-how-china-can-boost-demand-and-drive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2024 21:30:09 +0000 Earlier this year, before China announced its target economic growth of around 5 per cent for the year at the “two sessions” parliamentary meetings in March, I had forecast a range of between 5 per cent and 5.5 per cent – a range rather than a point forecast because of the uncertainties China and the world face. My forecast was based in part on the target growth rates announced by the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland. Based on the gross domestic... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3268964/education-taxes-how-china-can-boost-demand-and-drive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3268964/education-taxes-how-china-can-boost-demand-and-drive-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:00:15 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen Hong Kong’s upcoming exchange-traded funds (ETF) that invest directly into cryptocurrencies could be attractive to many Asian investors, industry insiders say, but demand may still be a trickle compared with that in the US. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Monday gave the green light to multiple mainland Chinese fund houses and local virtual asset firms to move forward with their applications to offer ETFs that invest directly in bitcoin and ether, the world’s two largest... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3259186/hong-kongs-bitcoin-ether-etfs-seen-attractive-asian-buyers-childs-play-compared-scale-us-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3259186/hong-kongs-bitcoin-ether-etfs-seen-attractive-asian-buyers-childs-play-compared-scale-us-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Apr 2024 10:30:16 +0000 The budget that Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po presents to the Legislative Council this week will be the toughest of his career. In his last budget speech, Chan had forecast a cash shortfall in the current financial year of HK$54.4 billion (US$6.96 billion) after taking into account bond sales of HK$65 billion. In recent months, Chan has indicated the shortfall could exceed HK$100 billion. Major accounting firms have issued similar figures. As at December 31, 2023, the city had a deficit of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252950/why-its-time-hong-kong-go-way-singapore-gst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252950/why-its-time-hong-kong-go-way-singapore-gst?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Feb 2024 08:30:14 +0000 Hong Kong’s finance chief has ruled out the introduction of a controversial capital gains tax for the foreseeable future, saying any adjustment would affect the existing system’s competitiveness and the city’s economic conditions, as he also dismissed the idea of a departure levy. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday also suggested it was the government’s plan to “take two to three years” to return to a balanced budget, with the city facing a ballooning deficit estimated at more than... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3248784/hong-kong-finance-chief-paul-chan-rules-out-capital-gains-tax-foreseeable-future-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3248784/hong-kong-finance-chief-paul-chan-rules-out-capital-gains-tax-foreseeable-future-city?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jan 2024 09:44:20 +0000 Hong Kong may take “a year or two” longer than expected to return to a budget surplus, according to the finance chief, who attributed the delay to a sluggish city economy and reduced land sales limiting government income. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Saturday also said public coffers would be drained of more than HK$110 billion (US$14.1 billion) in the current financial year and offered assurances that efforts to secure new land would continue despite developers’ lack of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3247513/hong-kong-may-take-year-or-two-extra-return-budget-surplus-amid-sluggish-economy-reduced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3247513/hong-kong-may-take-year-or-two-extra-return-budget-surplus-amid-sluggish-economy-reduced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jan 2024 07:31:19 +0000 Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is expected to unveil measures to revive the flagging property market in his second policy address on October 25. In the third of a three-part series, Salina Li and Cheryl Arcibal look at the impact of the policy and monetary moves since 2009 to cool home prices. Owning a house has been Michael Zheng’s top priority since he and his parents moved to Hong Kong from mainland China about five years ago. When Zheng, a banking executive, heard the Hong Kong government... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3238366/hong-kong-policy-address-2023-will-rolling-back-stamp-duties-lift-hong-kongs-housing-market-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3238366/hong-kong-policy-address-2023-will-rolling-back-stamp-duties-lift-hong-kongs-housing-market-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:08 +0000 Any government rollback of property cooling measures is likely to boost home sales in Hong Kong, but even completely scrapping the measures would not be enough to revive a market that is grappling with high interest rates and a sluggish economy, according to analysts. An improved economy, a better jobs outlook and a turnaround in stock market performance are also needed to boost homebuying confidence and sentiment in the city, they said. The government gave its strongest hint yet that it could... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3236170/scrapping-hong-kong-property-curbs-would-be-welcomed-not-sufficient-fix-what-ails-flagging-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3236170/scrapping-hong-kong-property-curbs-would-be-welcomed-not-sufficient-fix-what-ails-flagging-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Sep 2023 12:00:22 +0000 Just days after President Xi Jinping announced tighter oversight of the way wealth is accumulated in China, speculation is growing about who might be targeted and how, with private business confidence still shaky following Beijing’s crackdown on the tech sector. On Sunday, Xi’s report to the 20th party congress signalled more robust regulation to narrow the wealth gap under “common prosperity”. “We will keep income distribution and the means of accumulating wealth well-regulated,” Xi said,... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3196510/chinas-xi-jinping-sends-warning-signal-wealthy-he-opens-new-front-common-prosperity-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3196510/chinas-xi-jinping-sends-warning-signal-wealthy-he-opens-new-front-common-prosperity-push?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Oct 2022 23:00:12 +0000 Singapore may impose more taxes on the wealthy as it seeks more inclusive growth, its next prime minister Lawrence Wong signalled in an interview. The Southeast Asian financial hub, which has been a magnet for the well-to-do thanks to its low tax rates and modern infrastructure, is already planning to raise income taxes for its richest residents, as well as duties on high-end property and luxury cars. Wong, who is also the city state’s finance minister and deputy prime minister, has indicated... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3189147/tax-rich-5-ways-singapore-might-tackle-wealth-inequality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3189147/tax-rich-5-ways-singapore-might-tackle-wealth-inequality?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Aug 2022 01:03:49 +0000 Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong International Airport – once one of the world’s busiest – is a former shadow of itself. These days, it mostly shows Hongkongers and long-term residents bidding a tearful farewell to the city they have always called home. Those who have left have established a new life abroad, going about their daily business in their new place of residence. And with reality soon kicking in, they find life challenges are no different anywhere else. Newly-arrived... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3178791/smart-way-newly-arrived-hongkongers-pay-uks-global-tax?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3178791/smart-way-newly-arrived-hongkongers-pay-uks-global-tax?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 May 2022 04:01:12 +0000 Shanghai and Chongqing, two of China’s biggest urban centres, offer a hint of what a property tax would look like as the Chinese legislature gave its nod last week to kick off the tariff after a decade of stop-go measures to rein in runaway home prices. The two municipalities, with a combined population of almost 60 million residents, were the test beds in 2011 for a tax that still remains, although its nationwide roll out was deferred two years later when Xi Jinping took over as president,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3153949/shanghai-and-chongqing-offer-hints-how-chinas-property-tax-would-work-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3153949/shanghai-and-chongqing-offer-hints-how-chinas-property-tax-would-work-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Oct 2021 02:40:29 +0000 China’s plan to introduce property taxes for unspecified regions over the next five years has ignited debate across the country, with some saying it could decimate local government revenue and shift investment preferences, while others hope it will help first homebuyers. Property taxes are not new to China, with a levy on commercial buildings introduced in 1986 and limited residential taxes rolled out in Chongqing and Shanghai in 2011. But analysts say Beijing’s “common prosperity” goal, which... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153886/why-chinas-property-tax-plan-key-pillar-its-common-prosperity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153886/why-chinas-property-tax-plan-key-pillar-its-common-prosperity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Oct 2021 13:00:23 +0000 When it comes to a capital-gains tax, rich people will go to extraordinary lengths to prove the impossible and deny the undeniable. I was just reading how the great and the wealthy in America have been lining up to round on President Joe Biden’s proposal to increase that tax’s rates on the richest to fund his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. You know, the usual specious arguments about killing entrepreneurship and undermining those great creators of jobs, the captains of industry. Biden’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131336/deficits-anyone-time-hong-kong-capital-gains-tax?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131336/deficits-anyone-time-hong-kong-capital-gains-tax?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Apr 2021 17:14:20 +0000 Wall Street got its stimulus. Now it’s hearing about the bill. Aglow after trillions of dollars of government spending pushed markets to record after record in the first part of the year, securities professionals reacted cautiously to President Joe Biden’s proposal to raise taxes on investing profits. Many counselled calm, pointing to the likelihood of long negotiations, while also noting the plan had the potential to provoke pre-emptive selling, cut stock valuations and slow down the rally in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3130736/tech-stocks-and-fat-valuations-seen-risk-bidens-43-cent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3130736/tech-stocks-and-fat-valuations-seen-risk-bidens-43-cent?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Apr 2021 02:28:52 +0000 Homebuyers could face higher property transaction costs globally as governments consider imposing wealth taxes to refill their coffers after spending record amounts of cash to keep their economies afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries, from Argentina and South Korea, have turned to populist policies by slapping levies on property market transactions, which could dent demand from overseas investors in their home markets, analysts said. “Real estate or wealth tax is one way for... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3123731/property-investors-alert-governments-impose-wealth-taxes-plan-more-levies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3123731/property-investors-alert-governments-impose-wealth-taxes-plan-more-levies?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:30:07 +0000 Hong Kong politicians have been proposing ways to boost public coffers of late, as the government prepares to deliver its budget on February 24 in the face of a record deficit of more than HK$300 billion (US$38.5 billion). Predictably, calls for higher taxes have returned, in particular, for the stamp duty on stock trading and the betting duty. However, the two ideas are stale and counterproductive, especially the move to increase the betting duty – and I say this as someone who does not favour... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3122250/why-hong-kong-should-not-raise-taxes-gambling-and-stock-trading?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3122250/why-hong-kong-should-not-raise-taxes-gambling-and-stock-trading?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Feb 2021 01:45:09 +0000 Hong Kong’s government, owner of one of the world’s largest currency reserves, should consider amending its tax code to let companies transfer losses among units, so that it can maintain the financial centre’s competitiveness with regional rivals, an advisory body said. The city can consider a group tax loss regime similar to the one enacted in Singapore in 2003, allowing businesses to claim tax losses from the previous year, according to a proposal yesterday (on Thursday) by the Financial... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3096347/hong-kong-should-reform-tax-code-spur-entrepreneurship-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3096347/hong-kong-should-reform-tax-code-spur-entrepreneurship-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2020 00:30:08 +0000 A combination of its small size and a friendly tax regime that attracts the world’s wealthiest individuals to its shores has made the principality of Monaco the world’s most expensive luxury property market, topping the likes of Hong Kong, New York, London and Paris, according to Savills. A home in the tiny kingdom on the Mediterranean Sea cost an average 48,150 euros (US$54,010) per square metre as of the end of 2019, or 7.7 per cent higher than in Hong Kong and almost double the level in New... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3092019/glitz-and-glamour-monacos-luxury-property-outshines-dizzying-prices-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3092019/glitz-and-glamour-monacos-luxury-property-outshines-dizzying-prices-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jul 2020 23:30:19 +0000 David Dodwell’s article, “Capitalism is in crisis. It cannot be business as usual for very much longer” (September 23), put forward that capitalism needs a “painful reset” to change focus from economic growth to improving livelihoods. This followed an editorial in the Financial Times in August on why major companies have committed to “explicitly elevating broader interests such as those of employees, the environment and customers” by redefining corporate purpose beyond profit. These are... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3030623/if-capitalism-wants-match-reboot-rhetoric-it-must-become?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3030623/if-capitalism-wants-match-reboot-rhetoric-it-must-become?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Sep 2019 22:30:11 +0000 Chinese executives are buying property in Germany to rent to fellow employees relocating to Europe’s top economy, but it is only a matter of time before mainland companies invest themselves, mimicking the likes of Facebook and Google to attract and retain talent, say market observers. “In Munich we advised a Huawei executive in purchasing four one- to two-bedroom apartments of up to €500,000 (US$563,110) [each], only to rent to other Chinese employees working at Huawei’s European Research... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3018793/chinese-investors-find-captive-rental-market-among-fellow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3018793/chinese-investors-find-captive-rental-market-among-fellow?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2019 23:30:07 +0000 Local and foreign investment in South Korean real estate dropped by nearly a third in the first three months of the year as Seoul announced plans to remove tax perks granted to the most common ­investment vehicles used by institutional investors. In the first quarter of the year, total foreign and local investment declined 31 per cent to US$4.44 billion from US$6.47 billion in the same period last year, data from Real Capital Analytics showed. Under the country’s current tax regime, real estate... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3011061/south-korean-property-boom-fizzles-out-investors-balk-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/3011061/south-korean-property-boom-fizzles-out-investors-balk-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2019 05:00:14 +0000 Much has been made of China’s purported housing bubble and the economic ripples it will send through the country and the world if it bursts. Indeed, a number of commentators have been fatalistic about the possibility of deflating this bubble because real estate seems to be the engine of the Chinese economy. Ostensibly, the Chinese economy is increasingly reliant on construction, which has stoked a huge credit boom. It is often said that China avoided a direct hit from the financial crisis of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2169147/how-china-can-tax-its-way-out-housing-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2169147/how-china-can-tax-its-way-out-housing-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 23:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong should consider lowering profit tax on innovative companies to attract more investment in the biotechnology sector, according to the chairman and CEO of a US-based cancer treatment developer. Otherwise, the city – well placed as a hub for research and business – risks losing out to other jurisdictions that offer generous state grants and tax benefits, said Johnson Lau Yiu-nam whose Buffalo-based Athenex lobbied successfully for concessions from government officials in New York state... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2165720/ceo-cancer-drug-maker-athenex-says-hong-kong-needs-do-more-draw?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2165720/ceo-cancer-drug-maker-athenex-says-hong-kong-needs-do-more-draw?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Sep 2018 02:04:09 +0000 Some very clever people, including the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, and Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, are expressing concerns over the slowdown in productivity growth. And, given that productivity (measured as gross domestic product per hour worked) is the ultimate driver of increases in living standards, they are right to be worried.  For most people in the West, wages and living standards have stagnated for decades. If you were a factory worker... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2154953/intangible-investments-rise-governments-must-rethink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2154953/intangible-investments-rise-governments-must-rethink?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Jul 2018 07:00:21 +0000 Frank Gu, a US-educated legal counsel at a multinational company in Shanghai, is closely following the debate over China’s new individual tax code. Earning 1 million yuan (US$151,100) annually, the 37-year-old is concerned that he may fall foul of China’s most dramatic personal tax code revision in decades, even though the new tax code has a number of tax-cut measures. The nation’s top lawmakers are reviewing a basket of changes, including shifting toward an annual levy, higher monthly... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2154325/why-chinas-high-income-earners-dread-new-tax-law-will-come?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2154325/why-chinas-high-income-earners-dread-new-tax-law-will-come?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:32:41 +0000 A pioneering US approach to taxation which enables couples to jointly file based on whole family income, including deductions, is garnering attention in China, although it is not clear that mainland authorities plan to role out a similar scheme any time soon. Experts say that China will strive for further reform to its tax system to reflect the rising cost of living and ensure competitiveness in the global arena. In this year’s government work plan, Premier Li Keqiang said China will increase... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2137876/china-not-ready-us-style-whole-family-income-tax-although?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2137876/china-not-ready-us-style-whole-family-income-tax-although?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:45:38 +0000 Hong Kong’s recently announced tax relaxation will attract more property buyers and encourage upgrades in the primary market, reviving sales in the ailing pre-owned residential sector, according to analysts. Homeowners now get 12 months of holding period before they’re subject to a 15 per cent stamp duty, double the earlier six-month period, according to an amendment bill passed last Thursday by Hong Kong lawmakers. The amendment is designed to help upgraders buy new homes before selling their... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2128205/time-upgrade-hong-kongs-new-property-stamp-duty-rule-kicks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2128205/time-upgrade-hong-kongs-new-property-stamp-duty-rule-kicks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:30:17 +0000 China’s tax authorities may have to reconsider whether they should accelerate their plans to simplify the country’s tax code and cut tariffs, as America’s biggest tax reform in three decades could set in motion a global race to slash taxes to attract capital. US lawmakers are working this week to reconcile the tax-reform bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, before sending the legislation to President Donald Trump to be signed into law. The proposed bill would consolidate... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2122997/us-reform-bill-puts-pressure-china-tweak-its-tax-code-avert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2122997/us-reform-bill-puts-pressure-china-tweak-its-tax-code-avert?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2017 23:27:42 +0000 There are no plans to cut Hong Kong’s corporate taxes across the board because the government needs to reserve funds to protect the city against economic fluctuation, the city’s financial chief said on Monday. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po dashed the hopes of the business community for cuts at the government’s first summit on taxation, which brought together 400 business people, accountants and civil servants who also heard a stark warning about tax compliance from an world economic... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2116637/hong-kong-financial-chief-dashes-hopes-wide-ranging-tax-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2116637/hong-kong-financial-chief-dashes-hopes-wide-ranging-tax-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:42:02 +0000 So, the government thinks that a massive corporate tax cut down to 10 per cent from the current 16.5 per cent will benefit startups, as well as small and medium sized companies, or SMEs, and encourage them to do more business and stimulate the economy. There is zero evidence for assertions of this kind, even though they are stock in trade for politicians bereft of better ideas, while free market ideologues are obsessed with tax cutting. However, down at the grubby end of the food chain, where I... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2107002/slash-red-tape-really-help-startups-and-small-businesses-taxes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2107002/slash-red-tape-really-help-startups-and-small-businesses-taxes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Aug 2017 05:28:10 +0000 China’s asset managers will face a new 3 per cent value-added tax (VAT) for returns on assets under management from January 1, 2018, enjoying another half-year reprieve on top of a 14-month grace period that expired at the end of June, according to a joint notice from the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation on Friday. Under the new regime, a 3 per cent simplified tax will be applied, instead of a more complicated 6 per cent VAT levy that was due to come into effect on July... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2101176/china-establishes-3-pc-value-added-tax-asset-managers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2101176/china-establishes-3-pc-value-added-tax-asset-managers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jul 2017 04:54:26 +0000 Foreign asset managers who profited from China’s equity market between 2009 and 2014 are facing substantial tax bills estimated worth a combined US$4 billion and managers that haven’t prepared enough provisions or protected by tax treaties may be forced to sell holdings to pay the taxman. Although less than three per cent of onshore equities are owned by foreign investors in China, the nation opened its equity market to foreign managers on quota basis as early as 2003, but there wasn’t any... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1733433/fund-managers-may-sell-holdings-pay-us4-billion-taxes-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1733433/fund-managers-may-sell-holdings-pay-us4-billion-taxes-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 07:45:30 +0000 Chinese regulators have revealed key details of how China plans to tax past profits of foreign institutional investors via cross-border investment programmes. The new policy would apply to profits earned by the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme and the renminbi-denominated version of the same programme (RQFII) between Nov. 17, 2009 and Nov. 16, 2014, said sources who attended a compliance training session for programme participants in Beijing on Thursday. Foreign... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/article/1724870/china-unveils-tax-template-some-foreign-cross-border-investments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/article/1724870/china-unveils-tax-template-some-foreign-cross-border-investments?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2015 04:15:00 +0000 Mainland developers recorded higher debt ratios and falling net profit last year amid stringent controls on the housing market, a survey has found. The research, which surveyed 184 mainland developers, all listed in Hong Kong, Shanghai or Shenzhen, was conducted by the China Real Estate Research Association, China Real Estate Association and China Real Estate Appraisal. These listed companies' net gearing ratio last year climbed nearly 9 percentage points to 64.4 per cent, from 55.6 per cent in... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1244578/developers-profits-fall-debt-rises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1244578/developers-profits-fall-debt-rises?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Property prices grew more slowly on the mainland last month compared to March following the latest round of cooling measures introduced by the government. Research by the National Bureau of Statistics showed prices rose in 67 of the 70 major mainland cities it regularly monitors. Two recorded lower prices, while prices in the other city were flat. On average, prices rose 0.61 per cent, against 0.65 per cent in March. But on a year-on-year basis, average new-home prices rose 4.9 per cent in... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1240913/capital-gains-tax-second-home-transactions-hits-property-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/1240913/capital-gains-tax-second-home-transactions-hits-property-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Is now the right time to replace the Buyers Stamp Duty? Following the inertia of the previous two administrations as regards land supply, the current administration has gone into overdrive in its attempt to catch up and remedy the situation. But I am now concerned that this may be being overdone and that we may soon face a similar situation that arose in 1997/8. The current Buyers Stamp Duty (BSD) is only really effective in a rising market and a more equitable form of tax such as a Capital... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1237952/market-changes-call-stamp-duty-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1237952/market-changes-call-stamp-duty-alternative?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:02 +0000 Mainland developers are expected to benefit from the 20 per cent capital gains tax on second-hand homes, which has been in force since the beginning of this month. Homebuyers would now tend to turn to the primary market, property consultants said. With fewer owners willing to offer their units for sale in the secondary market, homebuyers would have to go for new flats, said Albert Lau, the managing director of Savills China. Lau remained upbeat about the market outlook, saying stable demand for... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1214584/developers-benefit-capital-gains-tax?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1214584/developers-benefit-capital-gains-tax?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The volume of Shanghai flat transactions hit a 40-month high in March, as speculators raced to get ahead of new property market cooling measures announced by the central government, Caixin Online reported on Monday. The total value of transactions in the city last month hit 1.54 million square metres (16.5m square feet), according to real estate services company E-House China, a 180 per cent quarterly increase and the highest level on record since December 2009. Shanghai and Beijing moved on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1205418/shanghai-property-transactions-hit-3-year-high-march-despite-new-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1205418/shanghai-property-transactions-hit-3-year-high-march-despite-new-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:39:24 +0000 Shenzhen, Tianjin, Jinan and Hefei have become the latest batch of cities to meet a central government deadline on issuing detailed measures to cool the property market. Tianjin said a 20 per cent capital gains tax would be imposed on second-hand property transactions in the city. However, Shenzhen, Hefei and Jinan did not mention a capital gains tax specifically. The State Council gave local governments until yesterday to say how they would implement measures announced on March 1 to cool the... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1204245/four-more-cities-issue-property-cooling-measures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1204245/four-more-cities-issue-property-cooling-measures?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 These days, mainlanders and Hongkongers may not see eye to eye on many things - political developments in Hong Kong and even the number of baby formula tins that may be bought, to name two examples. But there is one thing that is sure to rile both sides - property prices soaring far beyond the means of ordinary people. Shortly after the Hong Kong government announced tough measures to curb property speculation in late February, the central government rolled out its latest set of guiding... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1204209/little-hope-latest-cooling-measures-will-ease-property-costs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1204209/little-hope-latest-cooling-measures-will-ease-property-costs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing, Chongqing and Shanghai will levy a 20 per cent capital-gains tax on second-hand property transactions, officials in the three cities said yesterday. Their statements came just 24 hours before a State Council deadline for local governments to say how they will implement measures announced on March 1 to cool the property market. From today, any individual permanently resident in Beijing who has not bought property in the city before will be allowed to buy only one home. Those who already... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1203565/big-cities-announce-capital-gains-tax-second-hand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1203565/big-cities-announce-capital-gains-tax-second-hand?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Sales of secondary homes in Shanghai may hit a record high this month as sellers rush to avoid having to pay the 20 per cent capital gains tax flagged by the government earlier this month. Clement Luk Shing, chief executive of property agent Centaline's eastern and northeastern operations, expects sales of second-hand homes in Shanghai to exceed 40,000 in March - double the average monthly figure of some 20,000 in peak months such as December and January. "Everyone is worried about having to pay... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1200394/shanghai-secondary-sales-set-record-high-rush-beat-levies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/1200394/shanghai-secondary-sales-set-record-high-rush-beat-levies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000