Hwuason's Liu Tianyong Consulted by Mainstream Media on China Tax Issues

Beijing, China, March 04, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Hwuason Lawyers, China’s first specialist tax firm, continues to be the firm that the Chinese media consults to provide an opinion on tax reform and developments. On 26 February 2010 Liu Tianyong, Hwuason’s Managing Partner, was asked by the People’s Daily newspaper to provide his thoughts on a request by China’s State Administration for Taxation (SAT) that 10 foreign invested companies engage in tax self-examination for 2009 financial year. Tax self-examination is a process by companies can self-assess whether their tax compliance is in order for that year and to make any necessary changes. Companies can avoid later penalties and interest by rectifying their reporting during this process.

The ten foreign companies that were asked to engage in this process were: Nokia (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Samsung (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Motorola (China) Electronics Co., Ltd., Panasonic Electric Works China Co., Ltd., Siemens (China) Co., Ltd., McDonald’s (China) Co., Ltd., HSBC Bank, Foxconn Technology Group, General Electric (China) Co., Ltd. and Wal-Mart (China) Investment Co., Ltd.

Liu Tianyong noted that this request was a win-win situation for both the SAT and the taxpayers. Tianyong was commented that “for enterprises, in undertaking self-examination, any problems identified will not be subject to penalties by the SAT.” Further, the SAT can benefit for this as the “work required to fully assess these companies is extensive and so self-examination has the potential reduce the manpower needed” Liu said. Liu also noted that once the examination enters the inspection phase, companies will face the burden of significant fines and late payment penalty.” Self-examination is just one tool required for the development of a mature and transparent tax system.

The People’s Daily, established in 1948, is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It is published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English, Japanese, French, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic.

About Hwuason. Hwuason Lawyers was the first specialist tax law firm in China. A commitment to combining tax and legal services distinguishes Hwuason from other tax advisors. We offer our clients an alternative to the ‘big 4′ accounting firms, both in terms of costs and the breadth of services we can provide, which includes M&A, tax controversy, cross-border and general tax.

For more information about Hwuason: www.chinataxlawyers.com.

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