China Business / China Desk

How can we help you?

Have you already founded a company in Germany, but need help with the monthly tax and legal obligations?

Are you unable to finance the sometimes very high costs of renting office space in the start-up phase and are therefore looking for an office service?

Do you need help applying for tax and customs numbers?

Have you received notification of a tax audit?

Do you want to liquidate your company?

Are you not yet able to communicate directly with the tax office due to language and technical barriers?

We can help you with this and support you in all tax matters in Chinese.

We are happy to support you in your language in the following areas:

• Company formation: drafting the articles of association, taking care of all formalities, attending the notary appointment
• Office services: post, telephone, meeting room
• Applying for a tax number and customs number
• Tax advice: tax recording, tax advice, tax structuring
• Preparation of monthly bookkeeping and advance VAT returns
• Preparation of monthly payroll accounting for your employees, reporting of social security contributions and preparation of monthly advance payroll tax returns
• Preparation of the annual financial statements at the end of the year and the associated tax returns for corporation tax, trade tax and VAT
• Correspondence and contact with the tax office and other offices and authorities
• Accompanying the tax audit
• Legal advice: contract drafting, legal representation, intellectual property, employment law, trademark registration
• Preparation of bookkeeping and tax returns in the liquidation phase

Special VAT features for Chinese online retailers

In its letter dated 28.1.2019 (III C 5 - S 7420/19/10002:002), the Federal Ministry of Finance commented on liability for VAT when trading goods online. It specifies the extensive changes that have applied to all e-commerce traders across Europe since the beginning of 2019.

The provisions of Sections 22f and 25e UStG, which came into force on January 1, 2019, include liability for tax reductions by online traders and corresponding record-keeping obligations for operators of electronic marketplaces. Due to the existing legal situation, thousands of Chinese traders are forced to register and provide proof of this with a certificate. Otherwise, they could be excluded from trading, as the trading platforms would otherwise be liable for their taxes. Once registered, an advance VAT return must be submitted every month and a tax return every year.

We help you to ensure VAT compliance with our VAT team. Haas und Kollegen can provide you with the following tax services, which will enable you to comply with the new legal requirements and meet all tax obligations in the future (as well as for the past, if applicable):

• VAT registration
• Application for a sales tax identification number
• Transmission of advance VAT returns
• Preparation of annual VAT returns
• Application for a certificate in accordance with § 22 f para. 1 sentence 2 UStG
• Applying for an EORI number
• Support with special VAT audits
• Summarized messages
• INTRASTAT messages
• Reactivation of the account on the online sales platform
• VAT Compliance Program
• Sales tax planning

Have you invested in real estate in Germany and rent it out? This makes you subject to limited tax liability in Germany and you must submit an income tax return for the income from letting and leasing. We can provide you with reliable support and competent advice thanks to our German-Chinese team.

We are also happy to advise you throughout the entire investment process when acquiring real estate, for example with the following legal and tax services:

• Correspondence and contact with real estate agents and property managers;
• Review of purchase and rental agreements;
• Correspondence and contact with tax offices and other related offices and authorities;
• Preparation of income tax returns and review of tax assessments;
• Real estate-related tax advice.