Tax authorities should monitor the task status and improve taxpayer engagement with push notifications about incomplete tasks, pending decisions of a taxpayer, and the task deadline for an ex-tax bureau.

• If a taxpayer opts to continue, the tax authority should get it done by a prescribed deadline;
• If s taxpayer opts to discontinue, the tax authority should efficiently wrap up the process

2. VAT invoicing made easy

• Local tax authorities should arrange for an auto-transfer of a taxpayer’s e-invoicing data by online means from an ex-tax bureau to the new tax bureau in charge. This saves a taxpayer’s hassle in reapplying for a VAT-invoicing limit or reregistering its VAT device through a personal visit.

3. Tax risk categorized

Tax matters of different level of risk should be handled differently:

• Low-risk tax matters can be transferred to the would-be tax bureau.
• Medium- and high-risk tax matters should be dealt with at the existing tax bureau.

4. Tax refund process optimized

• Local tax authorities are encouraged to automate the tax refund process and set a clear deadline for task completion by an incumbent or a new tax authority according to a taxpayer’s choice.

WTS China’s observation

Painstaking tax clearance and confrontation have always served as a deterrent to company relocation. STA’s new measures have removed those onerous and location-based tax formalities, e.g. tax de-registration, return of unused VAT invoices and devices, tax re-registration, etc. This should be an encouraging move to upkeep a hassle-free tax mobility and enable an efficient business restructuring.