Tuesday 26 July 2016

China Updates- Social Security/ Residence Certificates

Social Security
The rates of some social security contributions, including for old age pension and unemployment have been reduced by around 1% (expressed as a percentage of the underlying salary from which the deduction is made) with effect from the 1st of May, 2016 (to run for two years).

Residence Certificates
SAT announced that a Hong Kong certificate of residence issued for a certain year will be valid for that year and the following two years, assuming no change in the applicant's circumstances.



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Primasia will post the updates of Hong Kong and China from time to time. Follow us on our WebsiteBloggerLinkedIn and stay tunned for our updates!

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Need more information?
Please contact:
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Teresa Tam - Email 
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Primasia Corporate Services Limited
Tel: +852 2882 2088




Suite 1106-08, 11/F., Tai Yau Building, No. 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Friday 15 July 2016

Hong Kong Updates- Money Laundering/ International Tax/ Employment

Money Laundering
The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (CFA) dismissed Carson Yeung’s (owner of Birmingham City football club) appeal against his conviction for “money laundering”, contrary to Section 25(1) of the Organised and Serious Crime Ordinance (OSCO). Essentially, the case establishes that a money laundering offence could occur even if the funds were in fact clean, if the accused should have suspected that they were the proceeds of crime. In other words, the essence of the offence is intention (mens rea) rather than facts (actus reus).
Part of the rationale for this is the difficulty in sophisticated money laundering schemes of proving the tainted nature of the funds. Some people may be troubled by the idea that, if you can’t prove the underlying offence then you should just assume it.

International Tax
The Hong Kong government announced that it will join the OECD as an Associate in the BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) project, thereby committing to the 4 minimum standards of:
(i) countering harmful tax practices;
(ii) preventing treaty abuse;
(iii) transfer pricing documentation in respect of country-by-country reporting requirements; and
(iv) making dispute resolution mechanisms more effective.
 
Employment
The government announced that it was unlikely that the proposed changes to the employment legislation would be passed in the current term of the Legislative Council. The key change proposed is to allow the Labour Tribunal to make an order for reinstatement of an employee without the consent of the employer. As proposed, an employer would have an alternative (to reinstatement) of paying the employee a maximum of three times the employee's average monthly wages (capped at HK$50,000), exclusive of other existing remedies.


***
Primasia will post the updates of Hong Kong and China from time to time. Follow us on our WebsiteBloggerLinkedIn and stay tunned for our updates!

===================================================================

Need more information?
Please contact:
John Barclay -Email
Teresa Tam - Email 
--------------------------
Follow us on:
LinkedIn: Primasia
--------------------------
Primasia Corporate Services Limited
Tel: +852 2882 2088



Suite 1106-08, 11/F., Tai Yau Building, No. 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Primasia at Fujian Enterprises Investment and Financing Symposium

Primasia was invited to the “Fujian Enterprises Investment and Financing Symposium” to share business ideas with prominent corporate leaders from 23 Fujian enterprises. This business matching event was organized by the Department of Commerce of Fujian Province, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Find more information at ttp://www.hktdc.com/mis/coi/en/.


===================================================================

Need more information?
Please contact:
John Barclay -Email
Teresa Tam - Email 
--------------------------
Follow us on:
LinkedIn: Primasia
--------------------------
Primasia Corporate Services Limited
Tel: +852 2882 2088



Suite 1106-08, 11/F., Tai Yau Building, No. 181 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong