In late October, universities such as the University of Science and Technology Beijing and Hangzhou Normal University issued notices stating that, starting November 1, they will withhold VAT and surcharges on labor remuneration for seven types of services, including consulting, design, and education, sparking questioning from netizens.
According to Shanghai News Workshop, the Minhang District Representative Office of the Shanghai Charity Foundation received a property worth 6.5 million yuan bequeathed by an elderly person for educational aid. The person in charge stated that selling the property would require an estimated 4.5 to 4.6 million yuan in taxes, so they have decided not to sell it for now and will instead use rental income to support charity. On October 31, the topic topped the Weibo trending list.
The Beijing Municipal Tax Service publicly disclosed on its official website that tax notices had been served on 21 natural persons, reflecting the continuing increase in pressure on local finances and tax recovery.
On October 25, a netizen in Gansu posted a video titled "Who Isn't a Good Taxpaying Citizen," listing one by one the various tax rates embedded in everyday consumption such as food, utilities, transportation, home purchases and car buying, sparking heated discussion in the comments over hidden tax burdens.
October 22 is the deadline set by the Chinese government for declaring historical back taxes on offshore trusts. On that day, Chinese stocks officially entered a technical bear market, with the wealthy selling assets to pay the taxes, triggering selling pressure.
Many private entrepreneurs in Shanghai are facing pressure to pay massive back taxes, with some billionaires having to borrow hundreds of millions of yuan in cash just to barely meet their tax obligations.
The Huairou District Tax Bureau in Beijing has issued public notices to 21 individuals, including Chao Mouzhe, requiring them to self-examine and declare personal income tax on offshore trusts in accordance with the law.
On October 22, the Huairou District Tax Bureau of Beijing issued an announcement, serving 21 individuals with Notices of Tax Matters, requiring them to self-inspect the establishment of and participation in offshore trusts, submit materials within 15 days, and declare and pay individual income tax in accordance with the law.
Bloomberg named eight Chinese billionaires including Ding Lei, Huang Zheng and Lei Jun, whose overseas trust assets exceed $140 billion, facing a new round of tax recovery and harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party.
The State Taxation Administration released six implementation details, clarifying standards for lump-sum back taxes and the recovery period on historical trust income from offshore trusts, stepping up tax recovery from the wealthy’s overseas trusts.
On October 19, China's State Taxation Administration once again reminded relevant taxpayers to complete filing and tax payments within the transition period before October 22, in order to avoid late-payment surcharges. Bloomberg reported the same day that the offshore holdings of 8 billionaires, including Ding Lei and Huang Zheng, totaling about $140.2 billion, could be affected.
On October 16, Reuters cited family office lawyers as saying that some Chinese property developers are unable to pay the taxes they owe due to the sluggish property market; Hong Kong trust lawyers said that after the strengthening of tax collection on offshore trusts, some people have revoked trusts they set up before even funding them. China announced new personal income tax rules for offshore trusts in July; historical tax arrears must be declared and paid by October 22 to avoid late payment surcharges.
On October 9, the Shenzhen Tax Service issued an announcement stating that the social insurance payment function via channels such as the Alipay life account "Shenzhen Tax Service" has been restored.
A Financial Times report discloses that Beijing is conducting a large-scale investigation into the offshore investments, trusts, and undeclared income of wealthy Chinese, while financial institutions are re-examining the overseas investments of high-net-worth clients.
The Chinese government has issued the "National Tax Administrative Penalty Discretionary Benchmarks (2026 Edition)," which for the first time incorporates social security contributions into the unified national tax administrative penalty discretionary system, effective November 1. Netizens are concerned that rising labor costs for enterprises may lead to the shifting of social security costs onto employees, resulting in wage cuts and exacerbating deflation and employment difficulties.