China-Business Environment
time2008/10/22
Standards
- Domestic framework and international association
Legal framework
- Independence of justice
- Judiciary is not independent in China. The government controls the judiciary. The CCP directs verdicts and sentences, particularly in politically sensitive cases.
- Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners
- The judiciary does not guarantee an impartial trial to a foreign national. A high degree of corruption exists in the country, especially corruption within the CCP is rampant.
- The language of justice
- Mandarin-Chinese is the judicial language of China.
- Having recourse to an interpreter
- Having an interpreter is possible.
- Sources of the law and legal similarities
- The constitution is based on the promulgation of December 1982; with country's legal system originating from the civil law system which has been derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles.
Intellectual Property
- Domestic network and international agreements
Texts currently applying to patents/brands
| Type | Text | Date entered into law | Period of validity | Remarks |
| Patent | Munich Convention | - | - |
Tax rates
Consumption taxes
- Tax rate
- 17%
- Reduced tax rate
- 3% or 6% for small-scale business
0% for exported goods. - Other consumption taxes
Corporate taxes
- Tax rate for resident companies
- Tax rate on long-term capital gains
- Capital gains are levied at the rate of 33%,
- System governing groups of companies and dividends paid by subsidiaries to their parent companies
- Dividends are not subjected to any withholding tax,
- Tax rate on branches
- There is no separate branch income tax .
Individual taxes
- Tax rate
- Allowable deductions and tax credit
In China there are several types of deductions and reductions applying to taxpayers, For example, single people can deduct a fixed amount of their monthly salary accounting for 800 RMB, An additional amount of 3,200 RMB can be deducted from the monthly income of the foreigners taxed in China, for a total of 4,000 RMB,
The other deductions depend on the activity and on the salary of each,
Accounting rules
- Tax year
- The fiscal year begins on January 1-st and ends on December 31 of the same year.
- Accounting standards
- Accounting reports
- Companies have to produce a balance sheet and a profit and loss account.
Moreover, the Ministry of Finance publishes some important guidelines in the
"Accounting Standards for business Enterprises ". - Accountancy profession
- - The Ministry of Finance.
- Certification and auditing
- " The Nation's People's Congress " is the highest authority, which promulgates laws and standards of the Chinese accounting.