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New rules in China lay trap for tax cheats at home and abroad

New reporting regulations meant to help authorities track down evasion at home and corrupt officials overseas

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The business community has called on Beijing to ease the corporate tax burden and match the aggressive cuts proposed by the White House. Photo: Reuters
Frank Tangin Beijing

Beijing has ordered an overhaul of financial accounts to crack down on tax cheats at home and abroad.

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From July 1, all deposit-taking institutions, policy banks, investment agencies and insurers must ensure each new account has detailed information for tax assessments, including names, addresses, account balances and revenue flows.

According to regulations released on Friday by a raft of agencies including the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation and the central bank, the institutions also have a year to make sure existing accounts are compliant.

The rules come as demands grow on the nation’s coffers and a deadline looms for China to be ready to share records of taxpayers with other countries.

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The world’s second-biggest economy is under huge expenditure pressure and racking up large fiscal deficits as it tries to cover pensions for more than 100 million retirees, as well as education, health care, and infrastructure costs. China’s fiscal revenue grew by only 4.5 per cent to 15.96 trillion yuan (US$2.32 trillion) last year, while spending rose 6.4 per cent at 18.8 trillion yuan, amid slowing economic growth.

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