"Tax lawyer Qu Jianfeng talks about the balance between tax and enterprise: the upper limit of late fees, the new explanation of false guilt and the key points of high net worth compliance"

"Introduction: From law enforcers to agents, how does he see through the crux of the tax dispute?"

In 2025, as tax-related disputes grow increasingly complex and tax regulation fully enters the era of "data-driven tax governance," a lawyer with 20 years of frontline experience in tax authorities—who once served as deputy director of the稽查 bureau of the State Taxation Administration—has pivoted to stand on the side of taxpayers. He is Shenzhen lawyer Qu Jianfeng, recently named to the "LvxinShe 2025 Annual Power List: Top 20 Tax Lawyers." Qu Jianfeng's background is highly distinctive: he understands both the logic of law enforcers and the difficulties faced by enterprises, holding triple qualifications as a lawyer, certified tax agent, and certified public accountant. This "dual identity" gives him unique insights into the relationship between tax authorities and enterprises: it is not a zero-sum game, but rather a search for balance within the legal framework of the *Tax Collection and Administration Law* and the *Administrative Compulsion Law*. This article will provide an in-depth analysis from a lawyer's perspective of hot-button issues raised by Qu Jianfeng, including disputes over late payment penalties, the new judicial interpretation of the crime of falsely issuing special VAT invoices, and CRS compliance for high-net-worth individuals, offering practical legal risk prevention guidance for both enterprises and individuals.

"The first question for the balance of tax and enterprise: 18.25% annualization of overdue fees, should there be a ceiling?"

"In the interview, Qu Jianfeng raised a highly controversial topic: the current Tax Collection Administration Law stipulates that taxpayers are charged a late fee of 5/10,000 per day for late payment of taxes, and the annual interest rate is as high as 18.25%. This ratio is much higher than the benchmark lending rate announced by the central bank, and even exceeds the operating lending rate of most enterprises. From the perspective of law enforcement, taxpayers occupy national taxes and charge late fees. However, from the perspective of taxpayers, there are many reasons for late payment, especially for non-subjective and intentional tax evasion. Such a high amount of late fees is obviously punitive, not compensatory."

"Qu Jianfeng clearly stated that he tended to support the view that the overdue fine should not exceed the tax principal, and quoted Article 45 of the Administrative Compulsory Law: The amount of the fine or overdue fine imposed by the administrative organ in accordance with the law shall not exceed the amount of the monetary payment obligation. This provision embodies the principle of "overpunishment and equivalence". However, in practice, tax authorities often directly charge more on a daily basis in accordance with Article 32 of the Tax Collection Administration Law, which often leads to late fees far exceeding the principal."

"From the perspective of lawyers' practice, behind this dispute is the conflict between administrative law enforcement and the protection of civil rights. For enterprises, if late payment is caused by guidance errors, system failures or deviations in policy understanding of the tax authorities, they should actively collect evidence and advocate the application of the upper limit provisions of the Administrative Compulsory Law in administrative review or litigation. Qu Jianfeng's experience shows that this kind of defense is not without space. The key lies in how to accurately invoke the legal basis and break the inertia of the tax authorities."

"Fraudulent invoicing for VAT: How does the new judicial interpretation change the defence strategy?"

"In 2024, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Applicable Law for Handling Criminal Cases of Hazard Tax Collection", which significantly limited the crime of falsely opening special VAT invoices. Qu Jianfeng stressed in the interview that the explanation is clear: for the purpose of overstretching performance, financing, loans, etc., it is not intended to defraud tax credits, and does not cause tax losses of the state, it is no longer punished by the crime of falsely opening special invoices; for the act of overstating the input tax amount, it may be punished by the crime of tax evasion. This change directly led to a significant decline in the number of falsely opened cases across the country. Some of the cases that were originally accused of falsely opened, some were not guilty, and some were sentenced for tax evasion."

"Qu Jianfeng shared a recent case: In the first instance, the procuratorial organ accused the party of falsely opening the case. Based on the new judicial interpretation, he proposed that the subjective purpose of the party was to evade taxes rather than to defraud taxes. The principle of subjective and objective unity should be applied to identify the crime of tax evasion, and it must first be handled by the tax authority. The court finally adopted the opinion and ruled to terminate the trial and return it to the tax authorities. This case reflects that the new judicial interpretation provides an important u201copeningu201d for defense lawyers, but at the same time places higher requirements on the professional ability of lawyers - it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the criteria for the determination of u201csubjective intentu201d and the calculation of u201cnational tax lossesu201d."

"For enterprises, this change means that the "open" risk has not disappeared, but has transformed the form. Qu Jianfeng reminded that in the context of the full implementation of the fourth phase of the Golden Tax and the increasingly precise supervision of big data, traditional tax evasion methods such as falsely invoiced, falsely listed costs, and off-book collections are extremely easy to expose. Businesses should pay more attention to tax compliance than take advantage of it. Once a tax-related dispute occurs, professional tax lawyers should be hired as early as possible to intervene, and response strategies should be initiated at the audit stage, rather than panicking until a criminal case is filed."

"CRS Compliance for High Net Worth Individuals: Five Keys to Tax Residency and Asset Allocation"

"With the normalization of CRS (Common Reporting Standard) data exchange, the transparency of overseas asset allocation has been greatly improved, and the tax-related risks faced by high-net-worth individuals have increased sharply. In the interview, Qu Jianfeng made five specific recommendations that are crucial for people with offshore accounts, overseas trusts, or cross-border investments."

"First, determining your tax residency status is fundamental. According to Article 1 of the Individual Income Tax Law, an individual who has a domicile in China, or who has no domicile and has lived for a total of 183 days in a tax year, is a resident individual and is subject to tax on global income. Many HNWIs mistakenly believe that holding an overseas green card can evade Chinese tax residency status. In fact, the residence standard is parallel to the residence time standard, which is complicated and requires professional judgment."

"Second, declare offshore assets in compliance. The information exchanged by CRS includes financial account balances, interest, dividends, etc., and the risk of concealing assets is extremely high. Qu Jianfeng stressed that he should be familiar with the CRS rules and accurately declare them, rather than trying to hide them. Third, re-evaluate the ownership structure and business model. For example, holding domestic assets through an offshore company, if it is identified as a controlled foreign enterprise, may be at risk of being treated as a distribution tax. Fourth, keep the tax declaration materials, make full use of the tax credit policy, and avoid double taxation. Fifth, once a foreign-related tax dispute arises, it is important to seek the help of a professional lawyer, and do not trust the "relationship" and "network" so as not to fall into greater legal risks."

"From a lawyer's perspective, tax compliance for high net worth individuals is not only a legal obligation, but also a core part of wealth preservation. A reasonable tax planning plan should be combined with identity planning, asset allocation, family trust and other tools to reduce the tax burden within the legal framework, rather than taking risks. Qu Jianfeng's practical experience shows that professional affairs must be left to professional people, especially in the context of CRS and "tax by number", any fluke can pay a heavy price."

"The Future of Tax Lawyers: Compound Qualifications and Blue Oceans in the Industry"

"Qu Jianfeng stressed that tax lawyers must be compound talents, and the triple qualifications of lawyers, tax accountants and accountants are standard for excellent tax lawyers. This view resonates within the industry. Tax lawyers not only need to be proficient in law, but also in tax policy and financial analysis. He has been outspoken in his criticism of the misleading statements made by some training institutions - the claim that there is no need for in-depth study of tax law and accounting is highly irresponsible. Without a solid fiscal and tax base, it is simply impossible to handle complex tax-related disputes."

From an industry trend perspective, tax legal services are emerging as a blue ocean market. With the full implementation of the "Golden Tax Phase IV" system, strengthened regulation of the platform economy, and the push to address tax havens, enterprises are facing an increasing number of tax-related risk points. Qu Jianfeng's Shenzhen-based legal team has established a national tax and finance business center, coordinating resources across multiple branch offices and over a thousand lawyers. Through knowledge sharing, case discussions, and cross-regional collaboration, they provide clients with integrated services. This model of scaled and specialized development represents the direction of tax legal services.

"For enterprises, the choice of tax lawyers should not only be based on seniority, but also on whether they have a composite background in finance and taxation and practical experience. An excellent tax lawyer can intervene at the audit stage to help companies communicate effectively and avoid escalating disputes; can accurately use new judicial interpretations in criminal defense to strive for innocence or misdemeanor results; and can build a long-term mechanism in compliance construction to prevent problems before they arise. Qu Jianfeng's transformation experience is a vivid example from "law enforcer" to "guardian"."

"Conclusion: Tax and enterprise harmony, need more "translators""

"Qu Jianfeng's story reflects that tax legal services are moving from extensive to fine, from confrontation to balance. Between tax companies, it is not who overwhelms who, but to find that "degree" within the legal framework. For taxpayers, understanding the logic of law enforcement and making good use of legal weapons is the key to safeguarding their own rights and interests. For tax authorities, regulating law enforcement and safeguarding taxpayers' rights are also due to the construction of the rule of law."

"As a professional organization devoted to legal services, Guangdong Zhi Ming Law Firm has always paid attention to the field of tax compliance and dispute resolution, and is committed to providing enterprises with a full chain of services from daily consultation to dispute resolution. If you are facing a tax-related dispute or want to make a compliant layout in advance, you may wish to seek the help of a professional tax lawyer as soon as possible as Qu Jianfeng suggests - in a complex tax law world, a person who understands can often make your way more stable."