On November 10, the event “China-Africa Overseas Tax Forum and Tax Services for the Belt and Road – Entering Africa” kicked off in Jinhua. The forum was hosted by the Zhejiang Provincial Taxation Bureau of the State Taxation Administration (STA) and the Jinhua Municipal People’s Government, and organized by the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau of the STA, the Jinhua Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and the China-Africa International Business School of Zhejiang Normal University. It was one of the sub-forums of the 2022 China (Zhejiang) Forum on China-Africa Economic and Trade Relations.

The forum aims to help companies develop business overseas steadily.

Jinhua’s department of taxation has been taking the needs and expectations of taxpayers into account in recent years. For example, the department has studied international tax services, provided tax guidelines for companies to help them avoid the tax risks of cross-border investment, accelerated export tax rebates to ensure the smooth flow of capital, and provided personalized assistance for companies through accurate market positioning. Moreover, it has fully played its designed role, helping companies take advantage of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation to “go global” while contributing to bilateral cooperation.

The staff members of the Lanxi Municipal Taxation Bureau visit the production park of Hongshi Group.

In the past, lack of access to overseas tax information was a major problem restricting the development of companies. Since Jinhua established the first international tax service station in China in 2016, the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau began to build a one-stop international tax service station. The bureau has prepared the Taxation Guide for Companies to “Go Global” and the Investment and Taxation Guide According to Countries and Regions, helped multinational companies such as freight forwarders promote the China Railway Express overseas, established an international volunteer team called Blue Goose to introduce and publicize taxation policies among companies, and carried out multilingual livestreaming to introduce tax policies in various languages, including Chinese, English, Russian, and Arabic.

In order to help companies better go global, the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau has established a personalized archive for each of them. Through continuously improving the mechanism of information sharing and exchange, and checking information during field visits, the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau has gradually established a complete basic information system for taxpayers who have business abroad. Relying on this system, the department of taxation can provide accurate market positioning for companies, and record and solve the problems of companies such as tax-related risks, fund shortages, and failure to take advantage of favorable policies.

Helping companies go global is only a start; it is more important to help the companies steadily develop their business overseas. Based on the actual needs of companies going global, the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau has innovatively launched the “Tax Solutions & Entrepreneur Helps Entrepreneur” (“T+EHE”) project. The bureau has built a platform for companies to solve tax-related problems, where companies can learn from each other and improve their experience by communicating their difficulties and experiences in the process of “going global.”

In addition to the “T+EHE” project, the Jinhua Municipal Taxation Bureau has also established an expert consultation mechanism. By carrying out one-to-one responses to tax appeals, the bureau can quickly solicit the difficulties of companies abroad and invite experts to provide special consultation services accordingly. (Text by Zhu Feifei– Jinhua Evening News, photos by Yan Xuhui, Yang Xudong, and Shao Huan, translated by Jin Haiqiong, edited by Kendra Fiddler)