China to hold its citizen’s foreign account information
The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) is about to hold Chinese citizens’ foreign account information in 101 countries and regions, as the regulation on the localization of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in China was put into effect on January 1, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.
Under the new rule, Chinese citizens are required to fill out a statement declaring their tax identity when opening a new bank account, and the SAT will regularly exchange residents’ account information with tax authorities in 101 countries and regions who have pledged to follow the CRS, which was published by the G20 in July 2014, the report noted.
China will begin exchanging the information for the first time with foreign counterparts in September 2018, according to a statement on the SAT’s website in October 2016.
The move aims to crackdown those who illegally use foreign accounts to evade taxes and improve the country’s tax transparency through international cooperation, the statement noted.
China will start investigating newly-opened personal and institutional bank accounts on January 1 and finish the investigations of high net-worth accounts, or those with a balance exceeding 6 million yuan ($872,410.03), by the end of 2017, according a schedule outlined in the statement. The investigation of all bank accounts is expected to conclude by the end of 2018.
