In recent years, with the in-depth development of the market economy, the continuous expansion of the consumer market and the continuous updating of people's consumption concepts, the traditional commercial marketing model has been difficult to meet the needs of consumers.
Instead, it is the integration of service places, the diversification of marketing models and the convenience of payment methods.
"Commercial Prepaid Card" came into being under this market demand, and it is deeply loved by consumers because of its simple handling, convenient use, free transfer and flexible accounting.
Undoubtedly, commercial prepaid cards have become a common payment tool in people's daily consumption, and at the same time, commercial prepaid cards have also brought great benefits to the development of businesses and enterprises.
However, it should not be ignored that the impact of the overall economic environment and the drive of corporate interests, coupled with poor market supervision and unclear fiscal and taxation policies, have left many hidden dangers for commercial prepaid card issuers in fiscal and taxation, increasing the risk of enterprises violating fiscal and taxation policies.
The author has worked in an accounting firm for many years, participated in the financial audit work of many supermarkets and various enterprises, and made in-depth research on the sales and circulation of commercial prepaid cards.
This paper only discusses and demonstrates the related fiscal and taxation issues such as invoice management, income confirmation, deposit fund management and tax-related matters involved in marketing and promotion activities of commercial prepaid cards.
Keywords: finance and taxation of commercial prepaid cards
Commercial prepaid cards have become the new favorite of "cardholders" in just over ten years since they appeared, and together with debit cards and credit cards, they constitute a complete consumer payment system.
Commercial prepaid cards have the unique characteristics of locking customers, facilitating payment, stimulating consumption, etc., and can better adapt to market changes. Therefore, they have developed rapidly in China, and are quickly accepted by consumers, becoming a commonly used payment and settlement tool.
At present, China's large shopping malls, supermarkets, shopping centers and other physical stores have not only issued their own prepaid cards, but also individual practitioners and online stores. They have also launched their own shopping cards and virtual currency, and even companies that specialize in issuing prepaid cards have emerged.
The issuance and circulation of these prepaid cards have played a positive role in China's economic development.
At the same time, however, due to the imperfection of laws and regulations and the mercenary nature of individual card issuers, the supervision of the commercial prepaid card market is not strict, and there have been some problems such as violating fiscal and taxation regulations, evading taxes, buying cards with public funds, and accepting bribes with cards. , disrupting the normal tax and financial management order.
First, the financial and tax issues involved in commercial prepaid cards
Commercial prepaid cards are all kinds of cards with a fixed amount and validity period, which can be used instead of cash in a specific range. They are mainly shopping cards, membership cards, stored value cards, vouchers and other forms.
Commercial prepaid cards are not issued by financial institutions, so they are not financial settlement tools.
In essence, the commercial prepaid card is just a promise of the card issuer to the cardholder, which is also commonly known as "recognizing the card but not the person", that is to say, "whoever holds the prepaid card will enjoy the rights." It is this distinctive feature that makes commercial prepaid cards easy to buy and use, and becomes the first choice for enterprises to distribute employee benefits and public relations gifts.
Although as early as May 23rd, 20 1 1, seven ministries and commissions, including China People's Bank and State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China, jointly issued the Opinions on Standardizing the Management of Commercial Prepaid Cards, which put forward clear requirements for the issuance and management of commercial prepaid cards and required the compulsory implementation of the real-name registration system of commercial prepaid cards, which played a very important role in preventing illegal use of commercial prepaid cards, ensuring the security of cardholders' funds, and standardizing tax management.
However, it is unavoidable that there are still some problems in the sales and circulation of commercial prepaid cards, especially in finance and taxation.
(A) the problems existing in the issuance of invoices
For many years, due to the lack of clear legal norms, how to issue invoices for prepaid card sales and what kind of invoices are always hot issues in the industry.
In practical work, when selling prepaid cards, card issuers will issue invoices to card purchasing enterprises, precisely because the issued invoices have brought a series of fiscal and tax problems.
1. The commercial prepaid card is invoiced in the sales link, and the card issuer is suspected of falsely invoicing.
Article 22 of the Measures for the Administration of Invoices in People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates that invoices shall be issued at one time and truthfully in accordance with the prescribed time limit, order and columns, and stamped with the special invoice seal.
No unit or individual may falsely issue invoices.
According to the above regulations, if an invoice is issued when the card is sold, then the card issuer must issue an invoice according to the goods that the card purchasing enterprise or individual plans to purchase; The goods purchased by the cardholder at the time of consumption must also be consistent with the contents of the invoice required when handling the card, but inconsistencies often occur in actual work.
Card issuers with sound financial systems and strong awareness of risk prevention will strictly limit the contents of invoices, which are mostly within the business scope of enterprises, but will still provide some convenience for card buyers to sell more cards, such as issuing office supplies, clothing, sporting goods, gifts and labor insurance supplies.
Card issuers with imperfect financial systems and loose management will issue invoices of various names for card purchasing enterprises, and even negotiate with contracting institutions to issue invoices such as "meals" and "office furniture" that are not within the business scope of card issuers.
It can be seen that these practices of card issuers obviously do not meet the fiscal and taxation regulations.
2. The card purchasing enterprise used the card seller to issue a card invoice and entered it into the account, which was suspected of tax evasion.
Usually, prepaid cards purchased by card purchasing companies will be used to distribute employee benefits or public relations gifts, with the aim of reducing cash payments. On the one hand, employees get benefits, and they can also pay less personal income tax; On the other hand, enterprises will require card issuers to issue invoices for "office supplies" and "labor insurance supplies" when handling cards. Most of these invoices involve expenses incurred during the period of collective welfare and hospitality, which can be deducted before tax when handling accounts.
State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China's "Notice on Further Strengthening the Tax Administration of Commercial Prepaid Cards" has clearly stipulated that it is required to resolutely investigate and deal with the behavior of card purchasing units of commercial prepaid cards to deduct expenses unrelated to production and operation before tax, and it is forbidden to issue false invoices for pre-tax deduction.
It can be seen that the practice of card purchasing enterprises is also a clear violation of fiscal and taxation policies.
3. Invoicing in the process of selling cards disturbs the definition of tax and affects the normal collection of tax.
In order to facilitate the issuance of invoices, card issuers basically issue ordinary VAT invoices with the tax rate of 17%, mostly including office supplies, clothing, food, labor insurance supplies and gifts.
In order to get customers in advance and maintain market competitiveness, card issuers will try their best to expand the use of prepaid cards. For example, many shopping centers integrate various resources to form a business model of "one card in hand, eating, drinking and having fun", so that cardholders may not be able to buy goods with a tax rate of 17% in actual consumption, but may buy grain and oil goods with a tax rate of 13%, and even buy "services", such as catering.
Therefore, issuing VAT invoices in the process of card purchase will disrupt the tax categories, make it difficult to distinguish the payable VAT and business tax, and affect the normal collection of tax authorities.
(B) Problems in revenue recognition
According to the relevant provisions of accounting standards, an enterprise should confirm its income in time when it sells goods that meet the following five conditions: first, the enterprise has transferred the main risks and rewards of commodity ownership to the buyer; Second, the enterprise has not effectively controlled the goods that have been sold; Third, the amount of income can be measured reliably; Fourth, relevant economic benefits flow into enterprises; Fifth, the cost can be measured reliably.
Generally speaking, it is the completion of commodity trading, the realization of property right transfer and the accounting of income.
Corresponding to the above five situations, it can be concluded that although it is difficult for card issuers to confirm their income in the process of selling commercial prepaid cards, card issuers should carry forward some "advance receipts" to pay taxes on time after cardholders use their cards.
It is this link that gives the card issuer a "machine".
Some carry forward income at the time of settlement with special consumption institutions; Some fixed dates carry forward income; Some even deliberately delayed the recognition of income and adjusted profits at will in order to seek their own interests, which made it impossible to accurately collect enterprise income tax and caused losses to national tax revenue.
The problems brought by the confirmation of income time are relatively hidden. In fact, it is difficult for auditors to accurately define the recognition of prepaid card income when conducting financial audits of enterprises.
(c) Problems in the management of deposited funds
In the process of using commercial prepaid cards, there is often a problem of capital precipitation. For example, when the remaining amount of prepaid cards is small, some cardholders may no longer use them for consumption or throw them away directly; Some cardholders have left their prepaid cards idle for a long time because they have more prepaid cards or forget to hold them; Even individual cardholders are not convenient to spend their cards because of the source of prepaid cards.
The deposited funds formed by prepaid cards like this have actually become bad debts of cardholders. For card-issuing enterprises, their income should be recognized according to financial regulations and enterprise income tax should be paid in time.
In fact, basically no card issuing company will confirm the income in strict accordance with the regulations, and will not conduct a thorough inventory of prepaid cards that have been frozen for a long time.
In fact, the overall income and tax revenue brought by the deposited funds formed by this part of commercial prepaid cards should not be underestimated.
(d) Problems arising from marketing activities
In order to occupy the market and attract customers to choose their commercial prepaid cards, card issuers not only vigorously expand the types and scope of prepaid card consumers, but also do everything possible to give customers preferential treatment in sales and consumption. For example, some card issuers will give customers some physical gifts when purchasing cards, or give customers similar prepaid cards in proportion when purchasing cards; Some card issuing companies encourage customers to buy prepaid cards by spending double points on credit cards and giving gifts in kind when spending a certain amount on credit cards.
Card issuers have indeed promoted the sales and consumption of commercial prepaid cards through a series of marketing activities, but the fiscal and taxation issues involved in these promotional activities have always been the difficulty of enterprise accounting treatment, and may even be the risk point of enterprise fiscal and taxation.
1. Tax-related matters of marketing promotion activities in the card selling link.
First, according to the provisions of Caishui [2011] No.50, if an enterprise randomly gives gifts to individuals outside the unit in business promotion, advertising and other activities, it will pay personal income tax at the rate of 20% in full according to the "other income" items.
Therefore, in view of the fact that the card-issuing enterprise gives the customer the kind when selling the prepaid card, the individual who obtains this income shall pay the personal income tax according to law, and the tax shall be withheld and remitted by the gift-issuing enterprise.
If an enterprise undertakes personal income tax for customers, it should be included in "non-operating expenses", but tax adjustment should be made when the enterprise income tax is settled, and no pre-tax deduction is allowed.
Second, according to Article 4 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Provisional Regulations on Value-added Tax, the act of units or individual industrial and commercial households giving away goods that they have produced, commissioned processing or purchased for free from other units or individuals is regarded as selling goods.
Therefore, when the card-issuing enterprise sells the prepaid card, the kind presented to the customer belongs to the free gift, which should be regarded as the establishment of the sales, and the VAT tax obligation occurs immediately.
For marketing supplies outsourced to customers, the VAT output tax shall be determined according to the purchase price.
Third, according to the relevant provisions of the Notice of State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China City, People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Income Tax Treatment of Enterprises' Disposal of Assets (Guo [2008] No.828), if an enterprise uses the purchased assets for marketing or sales and gives them to others, if the ownership of the assets changes and does not belong to internal disposal, it shall be recognized as sales income in accordance with the regulations.
Therefore, the physical gifts given to customers by card-issuing enterprises according to marketing promotion activities should be included in "other business income" in accounting.
2. Tax-related matters of marketing promotion activities during credit card consumption.
Most commercial enterprises will give customers double points to encourage credit card spending. When the points reach a certain amount, they can be exchanged for physical gifts and lucky draw.
Document Caishui [20 1 1]50 clearly stipulates that if an enterprise gives gifts to individuals in the process of selling goods and providing services, and returns gifts to individuals who have accumulated a certain amount of consumption according to their consumption points, personal income tax will not be levied.
But at the same time, it is also stipulated that enterprises should give extra lucky draw opportunities to customers whose accumulated consumption reaches a certain amount, and collect personal income tax at the full rate of 20% according to the "accidental income" project.
According to the above terms, commercial enterprises will give points back to cardholders and should not levy personal income tax; Personal income tax is levied on the lottery income, which is withheld and remitted by commercial enterprises.
Second, strengthen the financial management of commercial prepaid cards
According to the survey data of the Ministry of Commerce, the sales scale of retail prepaid cards in 20 14 was 779 billion yuan, and the consumption scale was about 800.8 billion yuan.
Although the sales and consumption of prepaid cards have declined, it is still one of the main means of payment in the retail market.
Therefore, we must attach great importance to the fiscal and taxation issues involved in prepaid cards, guard against fiscal and taxation risks, and ensure sound development.
(1) Standardizing the issuance of commercial prepaid card invoices.
At present, there are no hard and fast rules on whether or not to issue invoices for the sale of commercial prepaid cards in State Taxation Administration of The People's Republic of China, and there are also great differences in actual management among local tax bureaus. For example, Zhejiang, Hebei and other places regard it as "direct sales", while Beijing, Dalian and other places think it should be treated as "advance payment".
The author thinks that commercial prepaid card, as a special prepaid value, does not have the objective characteristics of goods, although there are transactions between buyers and sellers.
Therefore, in the process of card cancellation, only funds are paid in advance, and no goods or services are actually purchased or provided.
Selling commercial prepaid cards can't be considered as a real commodity transaction, because from the perspective of capital flow, card purchasing enterprises and card issuers only exchange "money" and don't involve the circulation of "things". Therefore, invoices should not be issued in the process of selling cards.
It is suggested that the state should issue corresponding laws and regulations in time to make it clear that commercial prepaid cards should not issue invoices for various items, but should issue receipts for payment. After the actual card consumption, the actual sales or service parties will issue formal invoices and lists according to the facts, so as to eliminate three kinds of financial and tax problems from the root: First, eliminate the problems of issuing fake invoices by card selling enterprises and using fake invoices by card purchasing enterprises, and reduce the risk of enterprises being investigated and dealt with by tax authorities; Second, card-purchasing enterprises cannot use false invoices for pre-tax deduction of enterprise income tax to prevent tax evasion and ensure the integrity of national taxation; Thirdly, the tax categories are thoroughly sorted out, eliminating the phenomenon of tax confusion and safeguarding the authority of national taxation.
(two) to urge the card issuers to confirm the income in a timely manner.
According to the principle of revenue recognition in the Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises, after a card purchasing enterprise purchases a card, the card issuing institution shall confirm the revenue in time and pay taxes on schedule after the goods are sold, and shall not adjust the profit with advance payment.
However, in practice, the contracted merchants often handle the accounts with the card issuer according to the account period, and the card issuer will not confirm the income and pay the tax before closing the account. Due to the delay in paying taxes, the national tax revenue suffered losses.
The tax authorities should strengthen the supervision and management of card-issuing enterprises, take random checks, information association and other ways, timely grasp the income of card-issuing institutions, and urge them to pay taxes on time.
(3) Strengthen the tax management of some deposit funds in the balance of commercial prepaid cards.
The tax authorities should study and formulate effective regulatory measures, designate special personnel to be responsible for the management of prepaid cards, develop relevant software, establish a database for the management of commercial prepaid cards, realize joint control and joint control, and timely grasp the total amount, batch and time of commercial prepaid cards circulating in the market.
Regularly urge card issuers to sort out and track prepaid cards that have been sold but have not been used for a long time; Screening commercial prepaid cards that are really stagnant and no longer used; If it is confirmed as a long-term loss and no longer consumes, in accordance with the relevant regulations, the card issuer shall be urged to confirm the income of advance accounts corresponding to the deposit funds of this part of commercial prepaid cards and pay taxes.
(4) Carefully examine the accounting treatment of marketing and promotion activities of commercial prepaid cards.
Tax authorities should pay more attention to the fiscal and taxation issues involved in prepaid card marketing and promotion activities when conducting tax spot checks and annual inspections by intermediaries, and master the overall planning, implementation rules and cash situation of card-issuing enterprises in marketing and promotion activities in detail; Carefully check whether the in-kind gifts and points exchange involved in marketing activities are properly accounted for in accordance with fiscal and taxation regulations; Whether the personal income tax, value-added tax and enterprise income tax involved have been correctly collected; Supervise enterprises to strictly abide by financial discipline and consciously implement fiscal and taxation laws and regulations.
To sum up, although the issuance of commercial prepaid cards has prospered the market, brought benefits to card issuers and brought convenience to consumers, there are also great fiscal and tax risks.
Relevant departments should further improve laws and regulations and strengthen the supervision of commercial prepaid cards; Card issuers should consciously abide by fiscal and taxation laws and regulations, strengthen industry self-discipline, and promote the benign and orderly development of the commercial prepaid card market.
(The author is Beijing Xinyansha Commercial Co., Ltd.)
reference data
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