Notice on Implementing the Individual Income Tax Preferential Policies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Yue Cai Shui [2019] No.2)

22 June 2019

The Department of Finance of Guangdong Province and the Guangdong Provincial Tax Service under the State Taxation Administration issued a Notice on Implementing the Individual Income Tax Preferential Policies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (“the GBA”) on June 22, 2019. If Hong Kong permanent residents meet the conditions stipulated in the Notice, the Municipal Governments in the GBA will grant subsidies to the residents for the individual income tax paid exceeding 15% of the taxable income. The subsidies are exempt from individual income tax. The Notice was effective from January 1, 2019 and will be trialled for one year.

Abstract

The Department of Finance of Guangdong Province and the Guangdong Provincial Tax Service under the State Taxation Administration issued the “Notice on Implementing the Individual Income Tax Preferential Policies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” (“the GBA”) on June 22, 2019. If Hong Kong permanent residents meet the conditions stipulated in the Notice, the Municipal Governments in the GBA will grant subsidies to the residents for the individual income tax (“IIT”) paid exceeding 15% of the taxable income. The subsidies are exempt from individual income tax. The Notice was effective from January 1, 2019 and will be trialled for one year.

The IIT paid refers to the amount paid on the following gains/income according to the “Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China”:

• Incomes from wages and salaries;
• Incomes from remuneration for labor services;
• Incomes from authors' remuneration;
• Incomes from royalties;
• Incomes from business operations; and
• Subsidies received from talent engineering and talent projects.

Basic application criteria

• Hong Kong permanent residents, Hong Kong residents under the Admission Scheme (talents, professionals and entrepreneurs) etc.;
• Persons working and paying taxes in the 9 cities within the Pearl River Delta;
• Persons abiding with the law, research ethics and integrity; and
• Persons who fulfil one of the following criteria:
  • Candidates from major talent engineering from the state, province and municipality, those with “Talent Cards”, foreign working permits (Category A) or talents with foreign high-level talent authorisation, as well as other foreign high-level talents recognised by the state, province or municipality;
  • Research team members from major state, provincial and municipal-level innovation platforms, technical research team members from institutions such as higher education institutions and hospitals, technical and managerial talents who work or start businesses in core development industries in Guangdong province, as well as others recognised as talents with special skills and in short-supply in the 9 cities of the Pearl River Delta.