Shenzhen officials announced it plans to grant big tax subsidies to attract much needed high-end overseas talent.
Wang Lixin, Shenzhen’s vice mayor, said at a recent public event that the local government will offer personal income tax subsidies for overseas talent which would effectively allow them to enjoy a 15% income tax rate, according to a report by sina.com.
For example, an employee who earns 1 million yuan (US$145,570) a year in salary should in general pay 450,000 yuan in personal income tax, however if he/she qualifies for Shenzhen’s new policy, the municipal government will provide a 300,000 yuan tax subsidy, the report said.
Wang noted that talent is the key to make the city a technology innovation centre. He didn’t give further details about the criteria or the application process.
The move follows a joint statement by the finance ministry and state taxation administration in March which allows local governments in the Greater Bay Area to offer tax subsidies for high-end talent.
Besides big effort for talent acquisition, Wang noted the Shenzhen government will invest over 4 billion yuan in fundamental research this year. The technology research and development budget for 2019 is 12.3 billion yuan, increased by 8.4 billion yuan from the level seen five years ago.