Golden Tax Phase IV: Key Terms for Tax and Asset Planning (Part 1)

Tax compliance risk management has become a key concern for high-net-worth individuals. Sound tax planning can help lower your tax burden, guard against tax risk and keep your wealth secure. This first part of the series starts with the basics: what the Golden Tax system is, and what Golden Tax Phase IV means.

Start with the Golden Tax system

Before looking at Golden Tax Phase IV, you need to understand one concept: the Golden Tax system.

The Golden Tax system is the invoicing subsystem of China’s national Golden Tax Project. It issues value-added tax (VAT) invoices for the national tax authorities.

It is also the enterprise-side software normally used to issue special VAT invoices and ordinary VAT invoices. It connects to the tax bureau side and to the tax issuance subsystem.

The Golden Tax system has two parts:

• the enterprise-side invoicing system
• the government-side invoicing system

What Golden Tax Phase IV is

Golden Tax Phase IV is the latest upgrade of the tax administration information system project launched by China’s State Taxation Administration. In other words, it is the fourth generation of the Golden Tax system.

Part 2 of this series looks at what Golden Tax Phase IV does. If you hold assets or run a business in China and are reviewing your tax and asset planning, talking to one of our consultants can help you see whether an overseas status fits your plans.