Recap on “An Introduction to GBA and its New IIT Policies”

Much anticipated by real estate developers, industrialists, and investors alike, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) has received plenty of attention for its ambition to economically and socially transform nine mainland cities and two special administrative regions into a new Silicon Valley-type technology and innovation hub.

To support the smooth implementation of the GBA plan and attract overseas talents to work in this region, China has officially announced detailed rules for the implementation of preferential individual income tax (IIT) policy for overseas high-end and ‘critically-lacking talents’.

On October 17 2019, Dezan Shira & Associates co-hosted a seminar with AustCham South China and Spanish Chamber of Commerce in South China, titled An Introduction to GBA and its New IIT Policies, in Shenzhen.

The presentation provided an overview of the Greater Bay Area initiatives as well as a summary of the key points of its new Individual Income Tax Law and received highly positive feedback from the audience.

Overview of the GBA and its Key Opportunities and Challenges

In the first session of the seminar, Marcos Salgado, Assistant Manager of International Business Advisory delivered a speech on the opportunities and challenges of the GBA plan.

He presented the topic with convincing statistics and highlighted that with strong government support and solid laws and regulations, the Greater Bay Area as a large integrated market will create plenty of business opportunities for diverse industries and sectors. Additionally, it will have great potential to extend and back up the development of China’s Best and Road Initiative.

Individual Income Tax (IIT) Policies for GBA

During the second session, Daisy Huang, Senior Manager of our Corporate Accounting Service team analyzed the new Individual Income Tax and explained the details of the policy.

Daisy Huang speaking on the GBA plan’s new IIT Policies

More Thoughts and Views on the Topic

William Lin, Senior Commercial Representative of Austrade, Shenzhen also joined the panel discussion, during which several questions and concerns on the topic were addressed.

When asked about the development of service industry in GBA, compared to other major clusters, Marcos pointed out that it is only 65% in comparison with over 80%. This is a big challenge for the plan since the Greater Bay Area will have to keep transforming its economy towards a service-oriented industry instead of relying on manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, on agriculture.

In terms of questions on the main beneficiaries of the law, Daisy delved into the purpose of releasing this new regulation and emphasized that it is aimed to attract talented people, the employee. Therefore it is important that they themselves really benefit from the policy with sufficiently enough incentives.

The features and some certain critical issues of the major cities in GBA, for example Shenzhen, were also highlighted by the panel, in comparison to Hong Kong, another import hub and centre in the GBA.

Challenges and opportunities are both abundant in this great integrated market and therefore it is significant that investors and talents fully understand the related regulations and grasp the chance.

Optimize Your Strategy for Doing Business in the GBA

To find out how we can support your business in the Greater Bay Area, please contact our speakers directly at marcos.salgado@dezshira.com and daisy.huang@dezshira.com .

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