Foxconn Photo: VCG

A Foxconn-affiliated company Industrial Fulian, a subsidiary of Foxconn, was fined 20,000 yuan ($2,816) by the taxation department in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, as a data service company showed. The fine came after Chinese mainland tax authorities conducted tax inspects on key enterprises of Foxconn in several provinces.

According to Tianyancha, a data service company for Chinese corporate information, Fulian Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd. was fined 20,000 yuan by the Wuhan taxation department, for fabricating false tax information and violating the law on tax collection, according to domestic media outlet Hexun.com.

Fulian Technology (Wuhan) is owned by Fulian Precision Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co. Ltd., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Industrial Fulian, a subsidiary of Foxconn.

The reason for the penalty indicates that the party concerned included the costs of some non-direct R&D personnel in the R&D personnel labor costs for additional deductions.

In 2021, this involved expenses for eight people amounting to more than 880,000 yuan, and in 2022, expenses for 15 people totaling more than 1.05 million yuan. According to regulations, the extra scope of R&D expenses deducted for corporate income tax should be adjusted to increase the taxable income amount.

Chinese mainland tax authorities have conducted tax investigations into Foxconn related entities in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, among other places, in accordance with the law. The natural resources department has also conducted on-site investigations into the land use of key enterprises of Foxconn in Henan and Hubei provinces, the Global Times has learned exclusively from sources. 

Industrial Fulian, listed on the Shanghai stock market, saw its trading price slip about 0.69 percent on Wednesday morning trading.

Foxconn is a Taiwan-headquartered company known globally for making Apple products including iPhones. The company's founder, Terry Gou, announced in August that he would be running as a candidate in the 2024 elections of Taiwan's regional leader. He then resigned from his seat on the board of Foxconn.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference on October 25 that mainland authorities conduct law-abiding investigations into all companies in an equal and fair manner, which is a normal law enforcement action.

Global Times