China sees higher platform tax compliance after new reporting framework

China’s tax authority has issued an update on tax-related regulations for online platforms introduced in June 2025, aimed at bringing greater consistency and supporting the creation of a unified national market.

More than 8,000 domestic and overseas online platforms have met the requirement to submit tax-related information, Global Times reported, quoting the State Taxation Administration (STA).

Under the new regulations, digital platforms, both domestic and overseas, must file tax-related information to authorities each quarter. This includes identification information of operators and workers, as well as income data for the previous quarter.

The STA noted that tax compliance among businesses and individual workers operating on these platforms has improved under the new framework.

Since the rules came into force, the number of merchants paying taxes on platforms has increased by 32% compared to the period before implementation, according to the STA.

The administration reported that invoices obtained by small-scale taxpayers on platforms from their suppliers climbed 25% year-on-year (YoY).

The STA said that disorderly “involution-style” competition has been checked, citing a reduction in practices such as inflating sales volumes and traffic through fake transactions.

The tax authority also linked the regulations to advances in cross-regional tax and fee service reforms, which are seen as crucial for integrating regional markets.

In 2025, taxpayers made more than 130bn yuan in cross-provincial electronic tax payments, up 39% from a year earlier, STA figures showed.

Over the same period, nearly 40,000 taxpayers completed cross-provincial relocations, representing an 18.7% YoY rise.

Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies under the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times that the results show the new rules have provided “institutional safeguards for enhancing market transparency and fairness”.

It will also help to build a well-regulated unified national market, Li said.

“China sees higher platform tax compliance after new reporting framework” was originally created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.

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