Recently, the Ministry of Finance ("MOF") and the State Taxation Administration ("STA") have jointly issued the Circular on the Inclusion of Items of the Tourism Industry in the Preferential Enterprise Income Tax Catalog for Hengqin New Area (the "Circular") which is retrospective effective from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020.
The Circular reads that: 1. Items in relation to the tourism industry are included into the Preferential Enterprise Income Tax (EIT) Catalog for Hengqin New Area, and enterprises engaged in the encouraged industries that could enjoy the preferential EIT policy to pay EIT at the reduced tax rate of 15% should be those specified in the Preferential EIT Catalog for Hengqin New Area (2019 Edition). 2. Other matters concerning the preferential EIT policy that allows enterprises engaged in the encouraged industries in the Hengqin New area to pay EIT at the reduced tax rate of 15% should still be governed by the relevant provisions of the Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration on the Preferential Enterprise Income Tax Policy and Catalog for Hengqin New Area of Guangdong Province, Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Area of Fujian Province and Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen City.