Summer of 2017 to see tax evasion crackdown – China’s latest business and technology news

Financial authorities on May 19 announced that “from July 1, all deposit-taking institutions, policy banks, investment agencies and insurers must ensure each new account has detailed information for tax assessments, including names, addresses, account balances and revenue flows,” the South China Morning Post reports. China Daily refers to the new measures as a stricter form of the due diligence tax procedures already in place, which expands oversight of non-resident accounts and prepares China to share information on tax evasion with other countries.

The SCMP explains that the new rules seek to expand tax revenue during a time of large fiscal deficits, and also satisfy a requirement of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a framework designed by the Group of 20 major economies and ratified by China in 2015.

• Farming the world: China’s epic race to avoid a food crisis / Bloomberg
• China pushes public to accept GMO as Syngenta takeover nears / Bloomberg
  “Public concern over food safety issues and skepticism about the effects of consuming GMO foods have made the government reluctant to introduce the technology for staple crops.”
• Disagreements surface over China-backed trade deal / Reuters
  Among the disagreements, “India in particular is reluctant to give up on tariffs,” making a year-end target to complete discussions on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) difficult, officials say.
• China’s LeEco founder cedes control of listed unit amid cash crunch / Reuters
• China to use insurers to close the funding gap in Silk Road projects / SCMP
• Gas guzzlers rule in China / WSJ (paywall)
• Macau casinos cash in again as China’s luxury sector rebounds / Financial Times (paywall)