The Tianhe tax bureau has accepted several deferred tax payment applications from foreign-invested enterprises since February, involving a reinvestment amount of 685 million yuan ($99.59 million). Tax exemptions totaled 68.6 million yuan.

Since Jan 1, 2018, foreign-funded enterprises can be temporarily exempted from withholding income tax until the investment is recovered, provided overseas shareholders directly re-invest in China the profits they obtain from enterprises on the Chinese mainland.

Tianhe has been actively implementing this policy, taking the initiative to find qualified foreign-funded enterprises and push this policy to companies through various channels including official WeChat accounts.

A member of staff at the Tianhe tax bureau answers questions from foreign investors. [Photo/thnet.gov.cn]

Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt Co is an international exhibition and conference organization. In 2022, its Hong Kong shareholders directly re-invested the profits from the company on the Chinese mainland, hence enabling it to benefit from the policy of deferred tax payments.

"The policy has effectively reduced the cost of reinvestment and put the funds to good use," said Li Yisha, a financial manager at Guangzhou Guangya Messe Frankfurt. "The company has more confidence and motivation to chase faster development."