Domestic information

1. The Convention on the Cancellation of the Certification Requirements for Foreign Official Documents has come into effect in China

On November 7th, the Convention on the Cancellation of the Certification Requirements for Foreign Official Documents came into effect in China. The Convention is the international treaty with the widest scope of application and the largest number of contracting members under the framework of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, aiming to simplify the process of cross-border circulation of official documents. Starting from November 7, 2023, official documents sent by China to other contracting countries for use only require the additional certificate (Apostille) required by the Convention to be sent to other contracting countries for use, without the need for consular authentication from China and the contracting country's embassies and consulates in China. When sending official documents from other contracting countries to mainland China for use, only an additional certificate from that country is required, without the need for consular authentication from that country and the Chinese embassy or consulate in the local area. (Source: Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Lawyer's recommendation: With the entry into force of the Convention, the time required to complete a document for a contracting party's employing unit will be significantly reduced from the previous 20 working days to a few working days, and the corresponding consular authentication fees and related intermediary service fees for embassies and consulates can also be reduced accordingly. After the implementation of the Convention, contracting enterprises interested in investing and exporting to China no longer need to apply for consular authentication for commercial documents, and over 70% of China's export trade related commercial documents will also benefit from this.

2. Establishing a Wealth Inheritance College in Hong Kong: Implementing the "Family Office Declaration" to attract family offices

On November 9th, the Hong Kong Financial Development Council announced the establishment of the Hong Kong Institute of Wealth Inheritance as a guarantee limited company. Dr. Zheng Zhigang was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and seven industry leaders were appointed as members of the Board of Directors, effective from November 14, 2023. The Hong Kong Institute of Wealth Inheritance was established by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government on behalf of the Golden Development Bureau, committed to creating Hong Kong as a leading international family office hub. The college will provide support for global communication and collaboration, knowledge sharing, and talent training, aiming to jointly build a thriving ecosystem for international family office managers, new generation asset owners, wealth management practitioners, and others, and enhance Hong Kong's international status as a hub for family offices. (Source: China Fund News)

Lawyer's recommendation: As the third generation successor of the Zheng family in Hong Kong, Dr. Zheng Zhigang's appointment as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Institute of Wealth Inheritance is of great significance in showcasing his talents. Hong Kong has a long commercial history, and many established enterprises have gradually entered the second and third generation inheritance stage. "Inheritance is the most important thing for mature family businesses.

3. The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges Refine the Regulatory Arrangements for Refinancing and Strictly Control the Rationality and Necessity of Raising Funds through Refinancing

To further clarify the optimized refinancing regulatory arrangements announced by the China Securities Regulatory Commission on August 27th, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges released specific measures on November 8th. One is to strictly restrict the refinancing of listed companies in the case of breaking the stock market or breaking the net asset. On any day within 20 trading days prior to the convening of the board of directors of the listed company's refinancing plan or within 20 trading days prior to the launch of the issuance, there shall be no situation of breaking the issuance or breaking the net assets. The second is to strictly control the financing interval of continuous loss making enterprises. Thirdly, if a listed company has a high proportion of financial investment, the amount of funds raised through this refinancing must be correspondingly reduced. The fourth is to strictly control the use of pre raised funds. When the board of directors of the listed company's refinancing plan is held, the previous raised funds should be basically used up. The fifth is to strictly control the relevant requirements for the main investment of refinancing funds in the main business. (Source: Official websites of Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange)

Lawyer's recommendation: Since August 27th, when the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced the optimization of refinancing regulatory arrangements, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges have not accepted any new refinancing projects. The Beijing Stock Exchange has only accepted refinancing applications from three companies, Junchuang Technology (833533. BJ), Silane Technology (838402. BJ), and Kunming Industrial Technology (831152. BJ), indicating the significant regulatory adjustment efforts.

4. Wang Jun: Build a powerful intelligent tax system and expand the space for "tax service overall"

From November 8th to 9th, Wang Jun, Director of the State Administration of Taxation of China, led a delegation to attend the 2023 BRICS Taxation Bureau Directors' Meeting held in Cape Town, South Africa. This is an important meeting held in the tax field of BRICS countries after the successful 15th BRICS Leaders' Meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in August this year. The meeting conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as building a modern smart tax bureau and promoting the improvement of the "BRICS+" tax cooperation framework, and reached consensus in various aspects.

During the discussion, Wang Jun emphasized that the construction of modern smart tax is not simply serving the tax department and tax business itself, but rather serving all aspects of generating and requiring tax data. The value orientation is to coordinate and serve taxpayers, taxpayers, taxpayers, decision-makers, and related parties, and to coordinate and serve the needs of multiple parties such as tax governance, economic governance, and national governance, In optimizing and improving the efficiency of both physical and digital tax systems, we aim to build a powerful intelligent tax system, which can better break free from the limitations of "discussing taxation based on taxation" and expand the space for "tax service overall". (Source: website of the State Administration of Taxation)

Lawyer's recommendation: Smart Taxation, represented by the Golden Tax Phase IV, is a systematic construction project that not only serves the tax department and tax business, but also provides overall services for tax governance, economic governance, national governance, etc. By leveraging the powerful functions of smart taxation, it is possible to expand the space for "tax services globally".

5. The tax department has exposed 5 typical cases of tax related violations, and is taking action to regularly crack down on tax related violations

On November 13th, the tax authorities in Jilin, Hubei, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Dalian exposed five typical cases of tax related violations, including cases of online broadcasters evading taxes and fraudulently issuing invoices and obtaining export tax refunds using multiple tax and fee preferential policies; We will not only crack down on illegal enterprises that evade and defraud taxes, but also punish individuals who fail to handle the comprehensive income settlement and payment of personal income tax in accordance with the law. (Source: website of the State Administration of Taxation)

Lawyer's recommendation: Compliance with tax laws is not a joke, let alone a loophole to exploit. The continuous exposure of the above cases has released a clear signal that "tax fraud must be severely punished, and illegal activities must be severely punished". Regardless of the level of fame and traffic, we should establish the concept of paying taxes in accordance with the law and with good faith, shoulder corresponding social responsibilities, and consciously fulfill our obligation to pay taxes in good faith. Anyone who breaks the "line" and steps on the "thunder" will be severely punished by the law.

Overseas information

1. Singapore's corporate regulatory authorities plan to make changes to strengthen anti money laundering prevention

To strengthen Singapore's anti money laundering (AML) controls, the Singapore government has proposed a series of measures to improve Singapore's AML system based on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and comments obtained from public consultations. (Source: morganlewis)

Lawyer's recommendation: Given the recent billions of dollars in money laundering cases in Singapore, the Singapore government will ensure that AML/CFT safeguards remain up-to-date and maintain Singapore's position as a global financial center.

2. The US estate and gift tax exemption will rise again in 2024

In 2024, the federal inheritance and gift tax exemption will increase by $690000, reaching $13610000 per person (the exemption in 2023 is $12920000). (Source: the advisor magazine)

Lawyer's recommendation: In 2026, if Congress does not take any new legislative action, the inheritance and gift tax will be reduced to the tax-free amount of $5 million per person before 2018. High net worth individuals should make timely adjustments to revocable and irrevocable trusts, gifts, and other estate planning tools to minimize tax obligations and take advantage of the higher inheritance and gift tax exemptions currently in place.