A review of China approach to cooperative compliance in light of the international tax practice and the OECD framework

Cooperative tax compliance approaches were initiated in the 2000s with the intention to allocate tax administrations’ limited resources in a more effective manner, i.e. focusing tax supervision at high-risk taxpayers while establishing a more collaborative, transparent, and trust-based relationship with low-risk taxpayers. On the other hand, taxpayers expected to gain earlier tax assurance and lower tax compliance burden. This article investigates cooperative compliance approaches identified in China, especially the ‘Tax Compliance Agreement’ and the ‘thousand companies group’, making a comparative review of such Chinese approaches to cooperative compliance, the pillars described by the OECD and cooperative compliance programs of some pioneer countries.