Study On Legal Issues Concerning Tax Collection And Administration Of Electronic Commerce

Electronic commerce in China has been growing vigorously in China now, which throws a new challenge to the existing taxation system, tax policies, tax administration, and international taxation rules. This thesis discusses legal issues concerning tax collection and administration of electronic commerce in China in the following three parts.Chapter I. Definition and characters of electronic commerce Based on international definition of electronic commerce, it analyzes the nature of electronic commerce in three aspects of character of electronic commerce, process of electronic commerce, and technology of electronic commerce. Compared with traditional economic modes, the electronic commerce has unparalleled advantages featured by major characters of large space of transaction, virtualization convenience, low cost of transaction, high efficiency of transaction, technological integration, and expansion availability. Laws can standardize social relations in real life. Therefore, to include any economic business into tax collection and administration, we must firstly study the rules of the economic activity involved before analysis of such issues as which link or which item of income should be covered in tax collection, and how to collect the tax. Now, main modes of electronic commerce adopted in China include BTOB (Business to Business), BTOC (Business to Consumers), CTOC (Consumers to Consumers), BTOG (Business to Government), and CTOB (Consumers to Business), where, BTOB certainly occupies very important position, and produces the largest influence on tax collection and administration. Chapter II. Difficulties and challenge to tax collection and administration Electronic commerce produces tremendous impact on tax collection and administration in form of traditional commerce, enabling it to envisage difficulties and challenge in the following five aspects: In the aspect of tax supervision, loss of tax revenue is serious because on-net trade is difficult to control, intermediary function is weakened, information service charge is hard to check, sale activities involving knowledge property of network is difficult to investigate, risk of loss in tax collectable from advertisement income exists, and Internet provides high-tech means for taxpayers to evade the tax. Concerning tax inspection, there are increased difficulties for tax inspection because basis for audit is insufficient, the legal position of electronic evidence is hard to confirm, tax authorities have difficulties in obtaining information, and tax officers is difficult to take evidence, etc. In consideration of taxation disposal, reasons in the following six aspects also cause some disorders, i.e. difficulties to confirm the taxpayer, difficulties to confirm the status of taxpayer, difficulties to confirm origin of income, difficulties to define taxable income, and difficulties to manage import and export. In view of taxation jurisdiction, development of trade on Internet weakened taxation jurisdiction in origin of tax, producing heavy impact on tax jurisdiction of residents (citizens). As for daily management of tax, there are considerable barriers. Firstly, difficulties are increasing in daily management of taxpayers; secondly, new requirements are raised for management of invoice; thirdly, daily inspection to taxpayers relies on visit inspection; fourthly, more widely service should be offered for self declaration of taxpayers; fifthly, there are increased difficulties in tax source management and control modes of withholding and remitting; and sixthly, it is difficult for implementation of electronic tax declaration. Chapter III. Construction and perfection of legal system for tax collection and administration of electronic commerce To construct and perfect legal system for tax collection and administration of electronic commerce, we must start from the practice of electronic commerce in China and practical situation about legal system for tax collection and administration in China to study and establish princ...