China unveils changes to income tax rules for individuals

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has signed a decree of the State Council to unveil the amended regulations for the implementation of the individual income tax law.

A clerk counts RMB banknotes at a bank in Nantong city, Jiangsu Province, July 24, 2018. [Photo: IC]

The amendment was made by the State Council to match the revised individual income tax law adopted by China's top legislature in August. The two new rules will come into effect together from Jan. 1, 2019.

The amended regulations have specified special expense deductions and introduced bigger tax incentives for qualified foreign talent.

The individual income tax was the third major contributor to China's total tax revenue, following value-added tax and enterprise income tax. In 2017, China collected individual income taxes worth nearly 1.2 trillion yuan (174 billion U.S. dollars) in total, about 8.3 percent of the total tax revenue.