Date set for Beijing VAT pilot expansion

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Date set for Beijing VAT pilot expansion

china-flag.jpg

Two weeks after China’s State Council confirmed the expansion of the country’s VAT pilot programme, a date has been set for when the scheme will be expanded to Beijing.

On September 1 Beijing will become the second city to implement the tax eight months after Shanghai.

China’s VAT reform programme, which was first piloted in Shanghai, sees VAT and business tax merged into a single tax. Businesses have widely welcomed the reform, which shifts the burden of taxation from them to consumers.

“Given the current business tax born by our company, VAT would significantly lighten our load in terms of tax burden,” said Christina Liu, finance controller at recruitment firm Hays, who is eager to the pilot expanded to other cities.

Around 138,000 taxpayers in the transportation and modern-service sectors, which are subject to business tax, will benefit from the reform to the tune of $2.6 billion.

The government is also looking to extend the pilot to Tianjin, Shenzhen and Xiamen, as well as the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Hubei. More areas will be added next year as China looks towards a nationwide roll-out.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Awards
ITR is delighted to reveal all the shortlisted nominees for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Tax Awards
The fates of pillars one and two hang in the balance after the US successfully threw its weight around in G7 and Canadian negotiations
Rafael Tena tells ITR about the ‘crazy’ Mexican market, ditching the hourly rate, and refusing to grow his fledgling firm in an ‘unstructured way’
It should be easy for advisers to be transparent about costs, Brown Rudnick partner Matthew Sharp said in response to exclusive ITR in-house data
The sprawling legislation phases out Joe Biden-era green tax incentives for businesses; in other news, the UK will reportedly maintain its DST despite US pressure
New French legislation should create a more consistent legal environment for taxing gains from management packages, say Bruno Knadjian and Sylvain Piémont of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
The South Africa vs SC ruling may embolden the tax authority to take a more aggressive approach to TP assessments, an adviser tells ITR
Indirect tax professionals now rate compliance as a bigger obstacle than technology and automation; in other news, Italy approved a VAT cut on art sales
AI-powered tax agents are likely to be the next big development in tax technology, says Russell Gammon of Tax Systems
FTI Consulting’s EMEA head of employment tax and reward tells ITR about celebrating diversity in the profession, his love of musicals, and what makes tax cool
Gift this article