Q: The chief representative's salary is paid by the foreign parent company, not through the domestic representative office. Can the chief representative choose to declare personal income tax in other districts (not across regions and cities)? Or must I declare it at the location of the representative office? Does the representative office have the obligation to withhold and pay? The salary is not paid by the representative office. How can the representative office withhold and remit it?
A: Article 8 of the Individual Income Tax Law stipulates that individual income tax shall be paid by taxpayers and withheld and remitted by the units or individuals who pay the income.
Article 2 of the Interim Measures for the Withholding and Remittance of Individual Income Tax stipulates that enterprises (companies), institutions, organs, mass organizations, military units, institutions, self-employed individuals and other units or individuals that pay personal taxable income within the territory of China are withholding agents for individual income tax.
The institutions in China mentioned in the preceding paragraph do not include foreign embassies and consulates in China and the institutions in China of the United Nations and other international organizations that enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities according to law.
According to the above regulations, the representative office does not pay the salary to the chief representative, and the representative office is not a withholding agent, so there is no need to withhold and remit the personal income tax of the chief representative.
Article 2 of the Notice of State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China City, People's Republic of China (PRC) on Printing and Distributing the Measures for Self-declaration of Individual Income Tax (for Trial Implementation) (Guo Shui Fa [2006]162) stipulates that taxpayers who are obligated to pay taxes according to the Individual Income Tax Law shall file tax returns in accordance with the provisions of these Measures: (4) Those who have obtained taxable income and have no withholding agent; Article 11 stipulates that taxpayers who have obtained income from items 2 to 4 of Article 2 of these Measures shall declare and pay taxes in the following places: (1) Those who have obtained income from wages and salaries in two or more places.
(2) Income obtained from outside China.
(three) individual industrial and commercial households to declare to the local competent tax authorities.
(4) Where an investor of a sole proprietorship enterprise or partnership enterprise establishes two or more enterprises, the location of tax declaration shall be determined according to different circumstances: (5) In addition to the above circumstances, the taxpayer shall declare to the local competent tax authorities where the income is obtained.
According to the above provisions, the chief representative shall declare and pay personal income tax to the competent tax authorities where the income is obtained, that is, the competent tax authorities where the representative office is located.