As of now, my country’s tax system has 18 types of taxes, namely: value-added tax, consumption tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, resource tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, property tax, stamp tax, urban land use tax, land value-added tax, vehicle and vessel tax, vessel tonnage tax, vehicle purchase tax, tobacco tax, cultivated land occupation tax, deed tax, environmental protection tax, customs duty, etc.
1. Value-added tax
Value-added tax is a tax levied on the value-added amount obtained by units and individuals in the production and operation process. It can be understood as the balance after deducting the cost of selling goods or providing services from the income of the unit. The value-added tax burden is shiftable. As the sales link of goods and services is transferred, the tax is generally borne by the end consumer.
(1) Scope of value-added tax
The scope of value-added tax includes the domestic sale of goods or services, the sale of services, intangible assets, real estate, financial services and imported goods. Cross-border trade is not within the scope of VAT private taxation, so cross-border trade exports do not need to pay VAT, and the tax rate is 0.
my country’s VAT rates are divided into four levels: 13%, 9%, 6%, and 0%.
13% tax rate: applicable to sales of goods, labor services, tangible movable property leasing services or imported goods;
9% tax rate: applicable to sales of transportation, postal services, basic telecommunications, construction, real estate leasing services, sales of real estate, transfer of land use rights, sales or import of agricultural products;
6% tax rate: applicable to sales of services, intangible assets and value-added telecommunications services;
0% tax rate: applicable to exports of goods, labor services or cross-border sales of services (such as international transportation services), intangible assets, real estate, etc. by domestic units and individuals.
(2) VAT taxable objects
VAT taxpayers are mainly enterprises and individuals. VAT corporate taxpayers are divided into general taxpayers and small-scale taxpayers, which are classified according to the taxpayers’ annual turnover.
(3) Classification of general taxpayers
Enterprises with annual sales of more than RMB 5 million shall register as general taxpayers with the tax authorities; enterprises with annual sales of less than RMB 5 million but sound accounting can also apply to become general taxpayers.
(4) Classification of small-scale taxpayers
According to Document No. 33 of Caishui (2018), from May 1, 2018, the standard for small-scale VAT taxpayers will be unified, and the standard for small-scale VAT taxpayers is annual taxable sales of RMB 5 million or less.
In addition to the difference in sales recognition, small-scale and general taxpayers also have different regulations on VAT payment policies. Taking domestic trade as an example, the VAT rate for small-scale enterprises is 3%, while that for general taxpayers is 13%. The state encourages export trade, so the VAT refund (exemption) policy is implemented in the cross-border export link, refunding the input VAT generated for domestic sales for goods or labor and services declared for export, and exempting sales VAT. For the export sales of goods by enterprises, the tax exemption but no tax refund policy for small-scale enterprises is implemented; for general taxpayer enterprises, the tax refund exemption policy is implemented, which exempts the sales value-added tax and refunds the input value-added tax, which is specifically based on the tax refund rate for exported goods.
For example, a cross-border e-commerce enterprise (① general taxpayer) is mainly engaged in cross-border trade business, and its main products are electronic accessories. The final selling price of the product is 120 yuan/piece, and the factory’s purchase cost price is 60 yuan/piece. 100,000 pieces were sold that month, with a turnover of 12 million yuan and an export tax refund rate of 13%. (The above prices are all excluding tax)
According to relevant provisions of the tax law, the export sales value-added tax rate is 0, and if the conditions for export tax refund are met, an export tax refund (input value-added tax refund) can be applied for. Therefore, the sales value-added tax of the enterprise in the current period is 0 yuan, and it can also apply for export tax refund, which can refund 780,000 yuan.