【新唐人2015年01月10日讯】随着中国企业在海外投资的大量增加，中共税收官员最近盯上了在海外注册的公司以及在海外工作的人员，要求他们报告自己在境外究竟赚了多少钱，并缴纳相应的税款。其实，向海外企业及工作人员征税不是新税法，而是上个世纪90年代就生效了的。为什么中共在现在才开始执行这项法律呢？我们一起来看看下面的报导。
《纽约时报》1月8号报导说，广州市政府将在1月28号，召集总部在广州市的150家最大企业的高管开会，讨论他们海外的雇员要缴纳中国税的问题。北京市当局和其他大城市也在做类似动作。
《纽时》表示，这是中共各级税务机关在悄悄开始执行的，一项鲜为人知的监管规则：公民和企业不仅要为在中国取得的收入纳税，也必须为在其他国家和地区取得的收入纳税。
《纽时》还说，中共国家税务总局也有相应举措，从2月1号将生效一项新规定，禁止一系列被视为避税的国际投资方式。
美国南卡罗莱纳大学艾肯商学院终身教授谢田：“能够在海外投资的或者在海外有收入的中国公民，实际上（主要）都是这些大企业、国营大企业、垄断企业，或者中共高干他们的这些人。而这些人无一例外都是反腐或者被调查的对像。”
美国南卡罗莱纳大学艾肯商学院终身教授谢田认为，中共执行这项措施，可能跟中共总书记习近平的反腐力度有关，因为他想通过反腐换取民意支持。
谢田表示，税务部门的这项措施，可能是想给那些想到海外隐藏巨额财富的中国富豪造成一定的难度，但实际效果如何，还有待观察。
实际上，中国的资产外流，一直是越演越烈。
去年1月，美国独立新闻群组织“国际调查记者联盟”披露，中共高层精英及其近亲，从2000年以来，通过在加勒比海避税天堂拥有秘密离岸公司，从中国移出的资金高达4万亿美元。
中纪委员在一份被泄漏的报告中预计，仅2012年就有1万亿美金流向海外。
去年下半年，中共启动了海外反腐的“猎狐2014”专项行动，把反腐延伸到了海外。
谢田表示，如今中共征收海外企业和人员的税，就是中共海外反腐的一个环节。
目前，对于应该在国内还是全球范围内征税，各国做法并不一样。欧洲、日本、澳大利亚和加拿大等国家，只在本国境内向公民课税，对外派人员和海外子公司，豁免国内所得税；而美国则是针对全球收入收税。
实际上，中共就是在上个世纪90年代吸取了美国的税法经验，并在1993年发布了这项法律。
《纽约时报》认为，虽然中共借鉴了美国的做法，但它的税收政策更严厉。
在中国，最高收入税率是45%，而美国则是35%，并且启动最高税率的门槛是月收入12,900美元。去年美国还允许侨民免除99,200美元的外国收入，超过这个数额才需缴税，但在中国，公民在境外的收入，每月只能得到210美元的额外减免额。
美国中文杂志《中国事务》总编辑 伍 凡： 说明中国的税收已经根本不够用，要靠投资到外国企业的税收。那么，这样会造成企业家要两边收税。”
美国中文杂志《中国事务》总编辑伍凡认为，这种双重税收制度可能会导致中国企业家想办法规避这项措施，甚至加入外国国籍。同时，伍凡指出，西方国家税收的大部分是回馈给老百姓的，用在教育、养老金、社会保险等方面﹔而中国的税收则完全成了中共的，除了各级官员的挥霍外，都用到基本建设投资、维稳、军队上去了，直接回馈给老百姓的钱相当少。
谢田也表示，所有涉及到金融、投资、财产等税率税法的时候，法律必须非常严格公正才能够真正实施。但在中国存在超越法律的特权阶层，这也是导致这项法律至今不能执行的一个原因。
美国《福布斯杂志》2009年曾发布一份世界各国税负痛苦指数排名，中国在这份榜单中高居第二位，而美国则要低得多。
采访/易如 编辑/宋风 后制/萧宇
NYT: China Wants Taxes Paid by Citizens Living Afar
“As Chinese individuals and companies head overseas in greater numbers, the country’s tax authorities are starting to follow. China’s tax officials are now demanding that citizens start reporting exactly how much money they earn overseas and pay the tax," reported The New York Times (NYT). In fact, tax collection from overseas companies and workers isn’t a new law for China; It existed since the early 90’s. So why is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) only starting to implement the law now? —Let’s see the report.
“The government of Guangzhou, has summoned executives from 150 of the largest corporations based there to a meeting on Jan. 28 to discuss the obligation of their overseas employees to pay Chinese taxes," reported NYT on Jan. 8. Municipal governments in Beijing and other big cities have taken similar actions.
“National and municipal tax agencies in China are quietly beginning to enforce a little-known and widely ignored regulation: Citizens and companies must pay domestic taxes on their entire worldwide incomes," continued NYT.
The new rules will ban a range of international investments considered as tax shelters and will be reinforced from Feb. 1.
Prof. Xie Tian, Aiken Business School, Univ. of S. Carolina: “Most Chinese citizens who can invest overseas all belong to big companies, large state-owned corporations, or monopoly enterprises, or are CCP senior cadres." “These people are all targets of anti-corruption and are investigated without exception."
Xie Tian believes that the CCP implementing a campaign of this measure may be linked to Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign and his efforts to gain public support.
He says the tax department may also want to make trouble for those rich Chinese who are hiding huge wealth overseas. But it may take time to see any effect.
In fact, China’s outflow of capital has been intensifying.
Last January, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed that senior communist elites and their relatives had transferred up to four-trillion USD through offshore companies based in tax haven countries in the Caribbean, since 2000.
A Central Commission for Discipline Inspection member also estimated in a leaked report that in 2012 alone, the equivalent of a trillion USD was transferred overseas.
Late last year, the CCP launched the “Fox Hunting 2014″ campaign to extend their anti-corruption overseas.
Xie Tian says, overseas tax collection from enterprises and individuals is part of the CCP’s anti-corruption campaign.
Currently, different countries have different ideas on collecting their taxes domestically and worldwide. Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada only collect tax from citizens in their territory, and expatriates and overseas subsidiaries are exempt from paying domestic tax. The United States collects tax globally.
In fact, the CCP had released the law to collect tax globally in 1993, following the U.S.’ example.
“While China is taking a page from the United States’ playbook, Beijing’s tax policies in some ways are even tougher," says NYT.
“The top income tax bracket in China is 45 percent, compared with 39.6 percent in the United States. That top bracket for the Chinese kicks in at $12,900 a month. The United States also allows expatriates to exempt a slowly rising sum of foreign earned income, which amounted to $99,200 last year. It then taxes the rest. In China, overseas citizens are eligible only for an extra deduction of $210 for each month they are overseas," reported NYT.
Wu Fan, Editor, China Affairs: “It shows that China’s tax revenue is not enough and it has to rely on tax from overseas companies; the entrepreneurs will be taxed on both sides."
Wu Fan says the double taxation system may lead Chinese entrepreneurs to evade it or to even change nationality. He says, most Western countries use tax on education, pensions, social insurance, etc. But in China, it belongs to the CCP, is squandered by all levels of officials, is used on capital construction investment, stability maintenance or the army, and only a very small amount goes back to the people.
Xie Tian says the law implementation must be very strictly impartial when it involves tax ratio and tax laws in financial, investment, property etc.
In 2009, U.S. Forbes released a negative “pain index" on tax by country—China ranked second; the U.S. was much lower.
Interview/YiRu Edit/SongFeng Post-production/XiaoYu
