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[AAovieAAan]

Hi,

I have a few more questions. As per my contract I am required to pay my own taxes. Could someone tell what this entails or how it is done in China. Also, as an American citizen I am aware that I may be taxed by the US upon returning home. Does this mean I will be taxed by both countries, or is there some kind of agreement where if I am taxed by one country the other will not tax me as well.

The next question I have is regarding how to bank in both the US and China with their respective currencies. I have some debts that I will need to continue making payments on in the US in US dollars. Is there a simple way to exchange and transfer my money so that it can be applied to those while in China.

I am roughly a month away from my arrival to China and I am very excited. Thanks for help in answering my questions as I prepare to leave.

AAovieAAan

[Aussie Mike]

The quickest and easiest way to get money to another country is by Telegraphic Transfer.

The limitations are that you can only tranfer US$5000, equivilent in any currency, per day and if you send $ or Euro as cash, it's soooooooo expensive.

Taxation has just changed again as I have heard, however, rule of thumb based on old amounts
No tax for income up to 5,000 - New amount I hear is 3,500

5,000-10,000 was taxable at 5%
10,000 up to next level was 15%

As for native country taxation, most will tax you, however, there are many deductions.
I can introduce you to an accountant in Hefei who has good English and reputation.

[kloke]

Any more options then the ones you mentions here?
I am considering doing a bank to bank transfer from Bank of China to my country in Euro, do any of you know how much this will cost me?

Cheers

[jon.smith]

Might be a little too late to throw in my 50p's worth here but anyway!
Whenever i send money back home i just use paypal, they take a small fee but if you're doing it regularly i.e. once a month like me it makes your life much less hassle free. As trying to arrange a standard international bank transfer here in china is an absolute pain in the ass i felt, so much was required in terms of proof of my earnings, where it all came from, had tax been paid if so can you prove it etc.. and a lot of form filling and sitting around in the bank whilst numerous pieces of paper get stamped over and over again!

I bank with ICBC here and have a little card a bit like a credit card with a table of numbers on (most people are familiar with the USB shield banks offer) that allows me to do my online shopping. FYI when you open your bank account when you arrive here just make sure you tick the box on the form that says sign up for online payments too, much much easier!

Best of luck anyway!

[x0vash0x]

PayPal has been the far easiest option for me. Open an account in China and link it to Chinese Bank. Open an account in your home country and link it to Home Bank. Presto! Unlimited transfers from the comfort of your own home! No wasting time at the bank. No going out on cold days or dealing with the random bureaucracy that are Chinese banks.

I believe the percentage is around 3 percent of the money you transfer, which I personally find very reasonably.

As for online shopping, I know Amazon accepts UnionPay. But, for transferring money and other online banking I was given a USB-Sheild from ICBC
http://www.icbc.com.cn/icbc/html/e_guanggao/udun/udun_e.html

[Aussie Mike]

Don' quote me on this but I'm sure the limit applies with money from China which is done electronically at time of transfer. However, there is no daily limit to China.

[x0vash0x]

There's tons of advice online about transferring money out of China, so I won't go over old ground. But I advise new FTs to ask for an official tax receipt at the end of each year (or well before you're about to fly out of the country). If your school drags its feet, go to the local tax hall (there's one on Funan Rd) and make inquiries.

ESL schools don't usually provide FTs with monthly payslips that show earnings and deductions, so it's murky. An *official* tax receipt proves that your employer actually has been paying taxes on your behalf. It's also necessary to have this proof in order to wire amounts over $500 out of China. Otherwise, you're gonna have to resort to more risky ways of getting your money out, such as depositing into a Chinese citizen's account.

This is why I love the PayPal route: No need to get an official tax receipt. Once you're verified both PayPal accounts, you're completely outside the Chinese system. You can send, from my understanding, nearly unlimited amounts.

"2.1 Sending Limits. We may, at our discretion, impose limits on the amount of payments you can send through the PayPal Services. You can view your sending limit, if any, by logging into your Account and clicking on the View Limits link on the Account Overview page. If you have a Verified Account, we may increase your sending limits."

As it stands right now, I have no sending limits from China to the U.S. I typically send between $500 and $600 a month back home, but I've been able to send upwards of $800 as well without any problems.

So, again... I personally recommend the PayPal route, if only because you're outside the Chinese banking system and don't have to deal with the headaches of getting Tax Certificates and going to the bank.

I think the reason why there's no transfer limit is that I send the money from my Chinese PayPal to my U.S PayPal is in USD not RMB. When I send money, PayPal takes RMB from my Chinese account, converts it to USD and then sends it to my U.S PayPal account. When sending money, you have the option of about 15 different currencies to select from.

[luiz_iniciante]

This is not strictly about transferring money, but it is incidentally related.

I am travelling to Malaysia next month, and I am not sure what is the best way to obtain Malaysian currency. My doubts are the following:

1. My bank is in China, however will I be able to use my Unionpay bankcard or Visa credit card over there?

2. I hate carrying wads of cash, but if I have to should I convert the currency here in China or wait until I reach Malaysa?

3. And should I just convert RMB to USD first, and then convert into Malaysia Ringgit's when I get there?

4. Has anyone ever been to Malaysia before? How much money did you spend on average per day, not counting the hotel?

Any other tips that come to mind would be welcome.

[luiz_iniciante]

Thanks for the advice!

[kloke]

Thank you very much for the precious advice, that paypal system looks interesting, i think i will try that one to see how i can handle it from here to my bank back home.

Cheers