Insights
Latest from Hendersen
Practical analysis on China tax, transfer pricing and cross-border structuring.
2026-07-02 · Featured
Lessons from Jushi Group's Egypt share-transfer case for resolving international tax disputes
When a Chinese listed company transfers the shares of an overseas subsidiary, where should tax be paid — China or the host state? A seemingly simple question once put global fibreglass leader Jushi Group within reach of RMB 140 million in irrecoverable tax. This cross-continental dispute between Asia and Africa ultimately ended with the Chinese position fully accepted by the Egyptian tax authorities. The case offers a textbook example of (i) the priority of bilateral tax treaties over domestic tax law, (ii) the limits of cross-treaty analogy, and (iii) a clean three-step framework for analysing share-transfer taxing rights under the China–Egypt treaty — with the Chinese tax authorities, through provincial and central tax bureaus, securing the favourable outcome.
Read full analysis →
2026-06-23
Hong Kong's tax transparency moves into criminal enforcement: the first CRS conviction
In March 2026, a Hong Kong court handed down the jurisdiction's first criminal CRS conviction: a private-banking client who made a false statement about the beneficial owner of a Seychelles-incorporated offshore company was sentenced to 6 months' immediate imprisonment and a HKD 500,000 fine. The case marks the moment Hong Kong's CRS supervision moved from administrative enforcement to criminal prosecution. Hong Kong is also accelerating domestic legislation for CRS 2.0 and the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with administrative-framework amendments expected to take effect on 1 January 2027 and CRS 2.0 full exchange by 2029.
2026-03-17
2025 update to the OECD Model Tax Convention Commentary: a new framework for home-office PE risk
On 19 November 2025, the OECD released a key update to the Commentary on Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) of the Model Tax Convention, addressing the cross-border home-office PE risk that has grown with the normalisation of remote work. Rather than abolishing the existing 'right of use' test, the update overlays two practical thresholds: a 50% time-share safe harbour and a 'commercial reasonableness' substantive test, both built around the share of time an employee spends working from a non-employer-owned location in any rolling 12-month period. The result is a more predictable framework for cross-border workforce tax planning — and the central reference point for 2026 PE compliance.
2025-09-19
A new era for platform-economy taxation in China: unpacking Announcement 16
On 26 June 2025, the SAT released two companion announcements reshaping platform-economy tax administration: Announcement 15 (information reporting by platform enterprises, effective 26 June 2025) and Announcement 16 (withholding/agency filing for platform workers, effective 1 October 2025). Together they establish a complete information-reporting and withholding framework for e-commerce sellers and livestream hosts. Announcement 16's key shifts: (i) withholding on labour-service remuneration switches from the 20–40% progressive schedule to the cumulative 3–45% schedule with a RMB 5,000 monthly deduction; (ii) small-scale taxpayer VAT exemption (monthly sales under RMB 100k) and 1% concessionary rate apply to platform workers' service income; and (iii) platforms can claim CIT deduction for amounts paid to workers using the new withholding/agency-filing receipts. The Douyin platform has since issued new rules implementing these changes.
2025-08-21
How to view the latest tax policies for Hainan Fuxing City Internet Information Industry Park
At the 23 July 2025 State Council Information Office briefing, Vice-Minister of Finance Liao Min and other senior officials outlined the goods-tax framework that will apply once the Hainan Free Trade Port ('Hainan FTP') moves to island-wide customs closure ('full closure'). The key shifts: (1) the zero-tariff positive list becomes a negative list covering ~6,600 HS codes (≈74% of all codes, up ~53 pp); (2) the eligible-entity pool expands beyond independently registered legal-person enterprises to cover most on-island enterprises, public institutions and private non-enterprise units; and (3) zero-tariff goods (and products processed from them) can flow freely between eligible entities on the island. For Hainan Fuxing City — one of the 13 key FTP parks — the headline numbers remain a 15% CIT rate, a 15% top IIT rate, and 18 taxes simplified to 7.
2025-06-19
Tightening CRS information exchange — how should China tax residents declare offshore income and claim foreign tax credit?
China's tax authorities are increasingly relying on Golden Tax Phase IV and cross-departmental data analytics to identify undeclared offshore income. Two recent cases — a Shanghai resident who paid RMB 184,800 and a Shandong resident who paid RMB 1.26 million in back-taxes and penalties — illustrate the trend. With 100+ jurisdictions (including Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and the traditional offshore centres) now signed up to CRS, and the US operating under a parallel FATCA regime, Chinese tax residents holding offshore accounts should expect far less cover. We outline the categories of offshore income most likely to be flagged, the foreign-tax-credit mechanics under SAT Announcement [2019] No. 35 and the DTA framework, and the practical steps to take before the annual settlement window (1 March – 30 June).
2025-02-05
Spanish Participation Exemption Confirmed as “Full Exemption” for CFC Regime
A note from Garrigues, Taxand Spain — The Spanish Directorate General of Taxes (DGT) has clarified that dividends and capital gains benefiting from Spain's participation exemption are treated as fully exempt under the CFC regime. Foreign holding companies receiving such income are not required to declare it in Spain, subject to standard CFC conditions including the 75%-of-Spanish-tax test."
2024-07-09
Taxand Global Announces Six New Member Firms
Taxand Global formally announces that six new top-tier member firms will join the alliance from 1 July 2024: Demarest Advogados (Brazil), Al Tamimi & Company (UAE), Maisto e Associati (Italy), Centrum (Turkey), and Covington & Burling LLP and Leo Berwick (U.S.). The expansion marks a significant milestone in Taxand's strategic international growth as the alliance approaches its 20th anniversary.
2024-07-01
Tax experts gather in Málaga as the 2024 Taxand Global Conference draws to a close
From 19–21 June 2024, more than 200 tax professionals from across the Taxand global network — alongside corporate delegates and academics — gathered at the NH Málaga conference centre for the 2024 Taxand Global Conference. The programme covered digital tax administration, the reshaping of tax policy, and cross-border compliance. Highlights included a keynote from OECD's Achim Pross on BEPS Pillar 1 design and the path ahead, and a closing address from legendary tennis coach Toni Nadal on mindset, discipline and resilience. The conference also marked the formal entry of six new member firms on 1 July 2024.
2024-03-26
Taxand Global Webinar: Global perspectives on transfer pricing in the consumer-goods industry
On 19 March 2024, Hendersen's China transfer-pricing team joined the Taxand Global webinar 'Global Perspectives on Transfer Pricing in the Consumer Goods Industry', focused on Asia and Europe. The session covered supply-chain disruption, brand investment, intangibles (with a deep dive into marketing intangibles), digital marketing, AI adoption, value-chain shifts, and the inevitable overlap between customs and TP adjustments in China. The panel brought together speakers from France, India, Switzerland, China and the UK, with attendees from 24 countries and regions.
2024-03-08
19–21 June: Taxand Global Conference heads to Málaga, Spain!
The 2024 Taxand Global Conference will be held in the historic Spanish city of Málaga — Picasso's birthplace and a fitting backdrop for our theme, 'The Art of the Possible'. The conference opens with a welcome dinner on the evening of Wednesday 19 June, runs through the main conference day on Thursday 20 June with a gala dinner that evening, and closes on Friday 21 June.
2024-02-07
Transfer Pricing Guide 2024
In an increasingly interconnected but volatile global economy, transfer-pricing management continues to challenge multinational corporations across jurisdictions. The Transfer Pricing Guide 2024 — the first edition — brings together territory-specific insight and core recommendations from Taxand's international experts across six continents, designed as a desktop reference to support strategic TP management and risk mitigation.
2024-01-30
Hendersen launches experimental AI assistant
Hendersen Taxand launches an experimental AI assistant at ai.hendersen.com. The tool aims to mitigate AI hallucination in a professional setting by combining large language models with a curated vector knowledge base built from our published work. The note explains the rationale, the underlying technique (vector embedding + RAG), and the next steps including reinforcement learning, fine-tuning and agentic workflows.
2023-12-20
Rethinking restructuring tax: is special tax treatment always the better choice?
Special tax treatment under Caishui [2009] No. 59 defers CIT on qualifying restructurings — but it is not always the optimal choice. This note compares the deferral-and-step-up approach of special treatment with the immediate-tax-but-loss-utilisation approach of general treatment through two case studies: (1) a same-control subsidiary merger where the parent's unused losses are due to expire, and (2) a non-control share swap followed by an onward sale. We highlight the often-overlooked effect on the ultimate parent, the change in taxable base for downstream disposals, and the VAT/LUT/deed/stamp tax considerations that ride alongside the CIT analysis.
2023-11-01
Taxand M&A Guide 2022
An introduction to the Taxand Global M&A Tax Guide 2022, a desktop reference covering tax considerations relevant to mergers and acquisitions — including recent local tax measures and developments — across Taxand jurisdictions worldwide. The China chapter is available via the linked Taxand Global guide.
2023-10-23
Taxand Asia Event
An invitation to the Taxand Asia 2023 event on Thursday 19 October from 2pm–5pm (SGT), hosted at the offices of our Singapore member firm Withers KhattarWong. Panel discussions will feature expert speakers from China, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, with case studies on intra-group shared services, cross-border start-up investments and remote-work jurisdictional issues.
2023-10-23
Treaty benefits on outbound dividends: the 'beneficial owner' rules and practical challenges
When non-resident enterprises receive dividends from China, treaty rates can be more favourable than the domestic rate — but only if the recipient qualifies as a 'beneficial owner' under the treaty. This note examines SAT Announcement [2018] No. 9 ('Announcement 9'), which tightened the beneficial-owner standard by drawing on BEPS Action 6. We walk through the safe-harbour categories, the three negative factors (12-month payment test, lack of substantive activity, low/zero tax residence), and the 'look-through' mechanism that allows dividends to flow up to a qualifying ultimate owner.
2023-10-13
Fully digitalised e-invoices (Fapiao) are here — how should enterprises respond?
By Cassie and Yolanda — China's fully digitalised e-invoice (Fapiao) is rolling out across 24 provinces. We outline what changes, the migration steps, and the financial risks and controls both issuers and recipients should prepare for.
2023-08-14
Transfer pricing: differences and tensions between customs and tax perspectives
By the Hendersen TP Team — Customs and tax apply different lenses to related-party import prices. The Shenzhen 2022 coordinated memorandum mechanism offers a practical path to resolve dual price-determination and avoid double taxation.
2023-08-04
Tax puzzle: when a Portuguese parent sells a Chinese subsidiary
By Frank Tao — An intra-group reorganisation from a French parent to a Portuguese parent hits a puzzle: the China–Portugal treaty's Article 13 omits the analogue of Article 13(5), with material tax consequences for the future exit.
2023-07-21
Permanent establishment risk points — lessons from two recent cases
By Kevin and Judy — Two recent cases — a Hong Kong limited partner treated as a PE in Fuzhou, and a cross-border service fee wrongly treated as offshore — illustrate the day-to-day PE risk points enterprises must monitor.
2023-07-18
Tax-payment credit rating — an essential pillar of enterprise risk control
By Danyi Yang — A survey of China's Corporate Social Credit System and the SAT's A-to-D tax-payment credit rating, with practical guidance on avoiding inadvertent downgrades and managing the operational consequences.
2023-06-28
Tax & AI: The future of tax compliance
By Dennis — AI is reshaping tax compliance. We survey the most promising applications, the concrete initiatives underway at the IRS, ATO and HMRC, and the practical challenges of data privacy, bias and complexity.