Is it likely that an expat employee could get detained in China for outstanding tax payments?
Under the Tax Collection Law, a taxpayer must settle outstanding tax payments or provide a guarantee for the outstanding tax payments to the tax authority before leaving China. If the taxpayer fails to do so, the taxpayer may inform the border control authorities and stop the taxpayer from leaving. It is not known whether the Customs authorities have already used this method against managers or other personnel of foreign-invested enterprises, but there have been reports of foreign artists who had performed in China being held up at the border until they settled their tax bills.
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