In the News: Expat Tax Exemptions; New IPO Restrictions; and Virtual Assets Recognized

September 07, 2023 | BY

Clarence Lee

China announces that overseas taxpayers will be exempt from certain taxes until the end of 2027; China attempts to boost the secondary market by introducing a phased restriction on IPOs; and PRC People's Court recognizes virtual assets as property despite crypto ban

Falling cryptocurrencies (bitcoins, dogecoins, shiba coins, binance coins and other) Credit: Igor Faun/Shutterstock.com

China Extends Tax Exemptions for Expatriates to Limit Foreign Brain Drain

China's Ministry of Finance announced that overseas taxpayers will continue to enjoy tax waivers for individual income, rent, language training, and children's education until the end of 2027, SCMP reported on Aug. 29, 2023.

In late 2018, the Chinese government announced that those tax breaks would be phased out from 2022 onwards. This has now been reversed, a move that foreign business groups suggest could prevent a loss of foreign talent.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China welcomed this "positive news", while the British Chamber of Commerce in China's chair, Julian Fisher, noted that expats will suffer from a significant increase in their living costs without the tax exemptions, "with some international executives expecting to see their income diminish by over 40 percent."

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