NGOs’ end-of-the-year difficulties
NGO年关难过
Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市报), January 28, 2013
As Guangzhou has eased registration requirements, a greater number of NGOs have been able to register as civil non-enterprise units. Yet organizations have been troubled to discover that this type of registration does not prevent the government from levying the same taxes imposed on businesses- including income tax, sales tax, value-added tax, even a local education fee. NGOs operating on small budgets find these taxes prohibitively cumbersome, and worry that if they cannot qualify for tax exemption (a process known for its arduous complexity), their organizations cannot continue to operate. According to state data, only 77 Guangzhou organizations were granted tax exemption between 2008 and 20011, and the vast majority had backgrounds in government or business.
Summary by Amanda Brown-Inz. See www.cdb.org.cn/newsview.php?id=6839 for full text. (Chinese)
