China ratifies intl pact against tax avoidance

BEIJING - China's top legislature has ratified an international convention combating tax avoidance.

The Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters was submitted by the State Council, China's cabinet, to a bimonthly meeting of the National People's Congress Standing Committee for review. It was ratified before the meeting closed on Wednesday.

The pact will enable China to participate in global initiatives against tax avoidance and evasion by cooperating with other states in the assessment and collection of taxes.

Wang Jun, administrator of the State Administration of Taxation, signed the convention on behalf of the Chinese government in 2013 in Paris.

The State Council hopes the convention will help China meet its commitments to the international community as well as squeeze shelter for Chinese tax dodgers.

It will not be applied to Hong Kong and Macao for the time being, according to the agreement.

The convention was developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Council of Europe in 1988 and updated in 2010, when it was opened to all countries.

Seventy had signed it as of March.