Job Discussion Forums

killian · Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 5:02 am Post subject: tax receipts in china?

by loose reckoning, my company has held back about 20,000 in taxes over ten months. i have never gotten a receipt.

how are your tax deduction from wages verified?

the bank wants to see my tax receipt before further remittances shall be permitted but the co. says such aren't provided.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

yes, I am in a similar situation. First, I don't agree with my school's calculation of taxes. and they have still not given me receipts. Legally they must give it to you monthly, though I was content to be given the receipts at the semester term. Now to see if the tax dep't has anyone left working their this week.

Yes, they are legally obligated tyo show you a tax receipt. If you are becoming "settled" in CHina this is important for many purposes

englishgibson · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 4345

i hate this topic, but it really is useful for those that want to settle. i mean, it isn't so bad to live in this country after all, is it?

giving suggestions on the topic here worries my sixth sense due to the forums participants/readers, but i'll tell ya that banks are run by government in china. so, don't deal with them or have someone else (your other half of the bed you sleep on Wink

) put your money in. what you have to do then though is that you need to shackle her to that bed too Laughing

vietnamese give fts hard time at border crossings or airports and i am worried it might be coming to this country. bloggin'about it is gona jinx it and that's my guess.

cheers and beers to our other half of beds as well as the shackles that we often have on minds Laughing

(darn i've had too many beers today) Laughing

waxwing · Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China

Yes.
In my last school they gave me tax receipts the same day as they wired the salary to my bank. And I needed it - to make a wire transfer back home.
In my current school I don't happen to need it since I take the money to Hong Kong (more convenient as I live right by the border) and I can make wire transfers via internet banking with HSBC.

I haven't thought to ask the school for the tax receipts but they *should* have given them to me without asking. Thanks for reminding me. And demand it from your school, too. There's no excuse for the school to not be paying the taxes unless you yourself are illegally working, which is not a position people should put themselves in.

TapRed · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 24 Location: Los Angeles, CA

I always got a tax receipt monthly because it was spelled out clearly in my contract that if the college did not do that, that they would pay me 10,000 RMB per occurance, plus still pay back taxes for me. I could not believe I got them to sign that.

If they won't give you tax receipts, (assuming you are working legally) then go to the police or the local prosecutor's office. Play hard ball and bend em over and F em.

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

Mister Al · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 840 Location: In there

TapRed · Joined: 13 Jan 2009 Posts: 24 Location: Los Angeles, CA

Actually I am quite serious. I have all of my tax receipts and would be happy to PM anyone with a JPG file of all of them with formal seals, stamps, etc. They can also be verified. I never let the Chinese play games with me. It is my way or the highway when it comes to taxes and contracts. If they don't want to play along, that's cool. Thus far, I have gotten everything I ever wanted in my contracts although on the last one it took 5-months to get all the details worked out. Then again, I worked for colleges and not fly-by-night ESL schools.

Hansen · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 737 Location: central China

Speaking of taxes, I noticed that the Bank Of China has been taking tax deductions off of the interest that they pay on my savings account. This includes a deposit of American dollars which I did not even earn in China.

I spoke to the bank about it and was told that I would have to go to the main branch in another part of the city. Anybody had similar experiences? Can anyone direct me to any official documents online which concern this specific issue?

kjk_esl · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 41

Oh it is tax time again! I worked in China for several years and never once was I ever given a tax receipt. My last year in China I got married and I was a little worried about my long term status in China so I had my wife find out where the tax office was and off we went to check on if my tax was getting reported and sent in to their office. What do you think was the answer? Neither of the two schools that I had worked for in that city was submitting my taxes to the tax office. Well the Shiite hit the fan and I am glad that I went there with my wife as she is well versed in the fine art of telling your side in a disagreement in China. The schools in question were haled in and questioned as to what was going on. I was there for the questioning of the school that I was employed at that time. The vice head master and the two bookers were not happy with me for reporting the school but there was nothing that they could do as I was finishing up my contract that month with them. Also we found out that the school was deducting more every month and had to repay me this extra at another meeting in the tax department�s office. One of the bookkeepers did apologise to me for this mistake while the other two were still fuming about me reporting the school. The head master of the first school that I worked for in this particular province (Ningxia) was not happy about being called in and having to answer to the tax department on why he was not submitting his school�s tax deductions from its FTs/.
My wife explained to me that both of these schools were likely paying a bribe to a lower level tax department person than the person that we reported this to. And that the tax person we talked to was likely pissed off the she was not getting her kick back on this deal. So the schools would now likely have to pay the bribe to this higher level person.
So the moral is of the story is, if you are not getting an official tax receipt from your school then the school that you are working is not reporting you to the tax department. So this puts you the teacher is a bad situation as you are suppose to be sure that your taxes are getting to the department. I feel that I was lucky in going to the department and reporting this and not having to pay any fine or not being made to pay the back taxes. If anyone wishes more info please PM me.

evaforsure · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 1217

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

This is kinda, sorta related to the topic:

First off, I've never gotten an official tax receipt. The school has me sign a little slip of paper that breaks down my salary (gross pay, taxes withheld, net pay) and I used to make copies of this . . . just in case. But now they've accumulated into a big pile in a desk drawer, so I gave up on them. They were not signed or chopped or whatever official thingie so I've never used them in any kind of bank transaction.

To exchange money, I've always gone to the bank and used my FEC and never had to have tax documents. No problem. The new FEC doesn't have a place for exchanging money though. Now what? The bank doesn't know nor does my school. Any insights?

arioch36 · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 3589

You should be able to get the regs at the central bank of CHina in your city. The city has one Bank of China designated for exchanging foreign currencies. As of last year, tax rexeipts, contract,letter from the school stating how much money you earned, and again a letter stating what percent can be changed from RMB to currency of choice. FEC isn't actually mentioned. The BOC often has a separate place; room or booth, for echanging currencies, and you can get a copy of the requirements .. maybe even in English