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What's News |
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[ 2025-5-9 ]
Company Secretaries job can DIY?
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Due to the uncertain economy in recent years, some companies have turned to hiring their own "company secretaries" in order to save costs. Can the company secretary do it himself? Can you really save money?
In Hong Kong, every limited company has a "company secretary" position, whose main job is to ensure that the company complies with the requirements of the Companies Ordinance in its daily operations. To legally and satisfactorily perform the duties of a company secretary, two requirements are required:
1. Unless you are a consultant of the company, any person must hold a "Trust and Company Service Provider License" (TCSP) issued by the Hong Kong Government Companies Registry before they can provide company services, including serving as a statutory company secretary, providing company secretarial services or providing a registration office.
2. Have professional qualifications and knowledge as a company secretary: A company secretary is responsible for dealing with the provisions of the company's ordinances, which is a profession. Without proper knowledge and experience, one cannot perform the job of company secretary.
The laws that govern government regulation are becoming more numerous and enforcement is becoming increasingly stringent. Failure to follow the laws will only lead to prosecution and fines, which is not worth the cost. It is illegal to serve as a company secretary without a license, or to employ an unlicensed company secretary.
Our company is a licensed TCSP company in Hong Kong. CPA Edward So is a chartered company secretary in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. It had many years of experience in handling various company secretarial and company law compliance work and can solve various company secretarial needs for clients.
In fact, the service fee of a company secretary is only a few thousand dollars each year. It is definitely not worth it to grope around and do things recklessly without knowing what you are familiar with, which may lead to violations of laws or non-compliance and cause losses. Therefore, our company recommends that professional work should be handed over to professional company secretaries. It’s better to save DIY skills to small handicrafts for entertainment in your spare time.
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[ 2025-5-2 ]
Borrowing an account to use = money laundering = 14 years in prison
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"Brother, my bank account hasn't been opened yet (or: my bank account has been frozen by the bank). I have a sum of money that I need to collect in a hurry. I'll borrow your account to collect it, okay?"
Everyone should have heard the above conversation, and may even have done it. Please note: This is a very dangerous behavior as it can be a crime of "money laundering" at any time.
In fact, in the years around 2000, the behavior of "collection and payment" was very common, especially for friends who opened factories in China. However, since 2012, Hong Kong legislation (Combating Money Laundering and Raising Terrorist Funds Ordinance (Cap. 615) and the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance (Cap. 405)) to combat money laundering activities has since become a serious crime, with a maximum penalty of a fine of five million or 14 years in prison.
What is money laundering? Under Hong Kong law, money laundering is defined as the transfer, concealment, or "cleaning" of proceeds from illegal activities through financial operations so that the proceeds appear legitimate and eventually enter the legal economic system. The sources of illegal activities are extremely wide-ranging, including drug trafficking, fraud, smuggling, terrorist funding, etc.
Anyone who knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that a sum of money is the proceeds of crime but still handles that property, whether directly or indirectly, is guilty of money laundering. Financial institutions or individuals who unintentionally facilitate the flow of funds may also be breaking the law.
So starting today, no matter how good a friend or how important a business partner is, you must never "collect or pay on someone else's behalf."
But when a friend is in trouble, should we really not help him? we can still help. If your friends really haven't opened a bank account yet, or their account has been frozen by the bank, as long as they are doing real and legal business, they can ask our company for assistance. Our company has extensive experience and can assist in resolving issues using legal methods.
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[ 2025-4-25 ]
It is better to have no "SEEK" than to trust "SEEK"
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Artificial intelligence (AI) has developed rapidly in recent years. Some "experts" have made bold statements, saying that the AI era is coming and will replace 18% of jobs worldwide, leaving a large number of people unemployed. Is this true?
ChatGPT has been around for more than two years, but there is no news of any jobs being replaced on a large scale.
The information provided by AI is often delusional and has been criticized by many users.
A few days ago, CPA Accountant, Mr Edward So, prepared the content for a trust lecture this week and asked ChatGPT (Poe) and deep seek the following question: Who are the Hong Kong tycoons who passed away in 24 and 25? The results were scary. If you are interested, feel free to go up and ask. Then you can know how credible the AI answer is.
The use of AI is undoubtedly an advancement in science and technology, but it is by no means a replacement for humans as some blind science believers claim, nor should we rely too much on its output. The advancement of technology is to serve humanity. We should make good use of technology to help us improve work efficiency or enhance the quality of life.
Our company is a "learning organization" and we are learning and improving every day. We are actively learning new technologies and thinking about how to apply them to our work, improve efficiency, and better serve our customers. On the other hand, we also focus on accuracy, security and privacy so that customers can use our services with peace of mind.
(Some pictures are taken from the public Internet. If there is copyright, please notify us to delete them.)
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[ 2025-4-16 ]
Standing at the forefront of “going global”
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Standing at the forefront of “going global”
The trend is to go global, what is "going global"? It is an economic activity in which enterprises expand their business to foreign countries and step out of the scope of their domestic market. The economy has reopened after the epidemic, but the economies of China and Hong Kong are still weak. Many Chinese companies are working hard to go overseas and seek international development. This is called going overseas, and it is also a policy encouraged by the Chinese government.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council also established the "The Cradle 出海服務中心" last week and held an inauguration ceremony.
Accountant Mr. So Kwok Wing is the president of SME Global Alliance and attended the inauguration ceremony of The Cradle 出海服務中心 on behalf of the Alliance. In fact, the issue of going overseas is the purpose of SME Global Alliance.
The purpose of this alliance is to assist small and medium-sized enterprises to internationalize. The so-called internationalization is now called "going overseas."
We should not start discussing the topic of going overseas now. In January this year, the Alliance held the "Double Dragons Going Abroad" seminar in Qianhai; at the end of March, it also held the "Qinghai Products Halal Certification Overseas Exchange Conference" in Qianhai. It can be seen that the International Alliance of SMEs is at the forefront of the times and stands at the forefront of the trend.
Edward So & Co. also became one of the first accounting firms for Hong Kong companies going overseas in December 2005 and signed the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Accounting Industry Development Strategic Agreement". It is one of only 42 accounting firms in Hong Kong (including the Big Four) that are qualified to assist domestic companies going overseas.
We actively assist Chinese and Hong Kong companies to go overseas and expand into international markets. We welcome all business friends who are interested in going global to join the International Alliance of SMEs and set sail together.
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[ 2025-4-11 ]
Tax evasion: win a candy, lose a factory, and in jail
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The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department announced that on March 5 this year, the Eastern Magistrates' Courts found a couple guilty of tax evasion. The first defendant was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of HK$330,000, while the second defendant was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for three years, and fined HK$400,000.
The two defendants were involved in underreporting rental income by a total of 1.41 million to 1.7 million yuan from 2015 to 2020, and underpaying taxes by HK$160,000 to HK$200,000
What is noteworthy about this case is that the amount of tax underpaid is very small (only about 30,000 yuan per year), but the penalty is very severe, with 3 years in prison, which is the maximum prison term. This shows the severity of the penalties imposed by the tax bureau and the courts on tax evasion.
Is it worth it to evade taxes just to save tens of thousands of dollars a year, but also to endure tremendous pressure during the investigation/trial, and ultimately pay double the fine and endure jail time? From any perspective, it's not worth it.
Our company believes that to properly handle tax issues, we should hold on to the following principles:
1. Tax returns must be filed in a legal and reasonable manner;
2. Recognize that paying taxes is the responsibility of citizens and that they should pay appropriate taxes;
3. Find a qualified accountant to assist with tax returns;
4. Find an accountant who truly wants to help you and be your long-term partner.
Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, tax evasion is a criminal offence. Once convicted, the maximum penalty for each charge is three years' imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000, plus a fine equal to three times the amount of tax undercollected.
Our company is a licensed accounting firm in Hong Kong with more than 30 years of experience in handling various tax matters. If you have any tax questions, please contact us.
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[ 2025-4-3 ]
From Qinghai to the sea
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The "Hong Kong Halal Certification Overseas Exchange Conference for Qinghai Products" jointly organized by the Hainan Prefecture Government and Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau of Qinghai Province, Hong Kong Central District Commerce and Industry Association (CDA), and Hong Kong Halal Certification Company, was successfully held on March 31 at Shenzhen Qianhai International Talent Port.
The purpose of the exchange meeting is to sell products from Qinghai Province overseas through Hong Kong's halal certification. The exchange meeting attracted more than 100 people, including representatives from Hainan Prefecture in Qinghai Province, halal certification experts, logistics companies, financial and investment companies, and business people from various industries.
Accountant Edward So is the President of Hong Kong Central District Commerce and Industry Association (CDA), the sponsoring organization. In his speech at the exchange meeting, he pointed out that Muslims account for one-quarter of the world's population and the market is very huge. Hong Kong is an international city and is familiar with international business habits. International friends have high recognition of Hong Kong's regulations/certifications. Chinese products are halal-certified and sold overseas through Hong Kong. This is an excellent combination and is in line with the country's policy of encouraging companies to go overseas. Hong Kong's business community assists Chinese companies in going overseas, which is Hong Kong's advantage and the general direction of Hong Kong's future.
Qinghai products going overseas through Hong Kong's services is an example of Hong Kong being the best choice for Chinese companies to go overseas. Accountant Su also actively promotes the advantages of Hong Kong as the first port for Chinese enterprises to go overseas and has delivered relevant speeches on many occasions.
Dear clients and friends, if you know Chinese companies that want to go overseas through Hong Kong, you are welcome to contact us to build a bridge for Chinese companies to go overseas and add economic impetus to Hong Kong.
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[ 2025-3-26 ]
A Charity Department in an accounting firm
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"POB Charity", you may have never heard of it. But you must have seen logos made of purple, orange and blue. Think about it? Yes, it is the color of the logo of Easiview Business Group/Edward So & Co Accounting Firm.
POB Charity is a charity department of our group company. Charity sector? Everyone has heard that an accounting firm has an accounting department, an audit department, a company secretarial department, and even a real estate department, but you may have never heard of a charity department. This is our newly established charity company. It was established in November 2024 and quickly obtained a charity license (88 license) on January 22, 2025, which shows our determination to do charity and the efficiency of application.
We have added a charity department with the goal of giving back to society after work and catching up with the ESG trend. We will allocate part of our profits to support charity work and encourage our employees to actively participate in various charity activities organized by us to give back to the society with money, effort and heart. Therefore, when customers use our services, they are actually doing charity work indirectly.
Our strength alone is not enough. We look forward to working with all our customers and friends to promote charity work in Hong Kong and contribute to building a beautiful, harmonious and inclusive Hong Kong.
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[ 2025-3-21 ]
"Chinese Company Law" You Need to Know
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"Chinese Company Law" You Need to Know
Accountants Mr. So Kwok Wing was invited by the Hong Kong Life Assurance Practitioners Association (LUA) to serve as a lecturer for their continuing education course at the end of February this year, titled "China Company Law and Insurance-related Tax System Issues". It is said that hundreds of members participated in the online course that day.
Chinese company law is something that many friends who do domestic business, including friends in the insurance industry who have clients in China, should be familiar with. However, everyone does not know much about Chinese company law, and they often step on "landmines" without knowing it. For example, in the class, many students raised many questions about the liability of the company's "legal person"; on the other hand, insurance practitioners also need to know the tax treatment of insurance-related expenses and compensation in China. This is also a question often raised by their domestic customers. These questions are answered in class.
After the class, according to the sponsor, the response from the students was very good, so LUA invited Mr.SO Kwok Wing to hold another syllabus training course in early April to explain the same topics again.
Friends who are engaged in the insurance industry, members of LUA, or friends involved in China business, if you missed it last time, please pay close attention to LUA’s announcement and participate in the above training courses to acquire necessary work-related knowledge, avoid “landmines”, and obtain CPD points.
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[ 2025-3-14 ]
Nezha's reincarnation is equal to trust?
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Recently, the domestic cartoon Nezha 2 has become a hit, with global box office revenue of 14.1 billion dollars, ranking seventh in the world in terms of ticket sales. As a friend who loves China and Hong Kong, of course I have taken a sneak peek.
But the story content of Nezha 2 is completely different from the traditional Nezha story. Basically, movies have nothing to do with Chinese culture.
Everyone is familiar with the traditional Nezha story. Among them, the most popular one is the section of Nezha's entrustment to the world. The content is: Nezha drew the Dragon King's crown prince's dragon root, and the Dragon King sent an army to investigate. In order to avoid hurting his parents and people, Nezha destroyed his life (returning the bones to his father and the flesh to his mother), leaving only his soul separated from his body. Later, with the help of his master Taiyi Zhenren, he transformed into a human form with a lotus flower. His soul was entrusted on the lotus flower, and he was reborn again and became an immortal immortal. Since he is already the incarnation of a lotus flower and is not Nezha's true body, the Dragon King has no way of pursuing him.
In fact, this is a "family trust" arrangement. The soul is the asset, the account in your own name is the body, and the family trust is the lotus incarnation. When danger comes, the body has to give up. If the soul only lives on the body, it will be destroyed together. But if you place your assets (soul) on a trust (lotus incarnation), when risks come, the assets will not be challenged and can be preserved for a long time (become an immortal).
It can be seen that the concept of trust has a history of more than 2,000 years in China, but the world only looks at the superficial story and ignores the true meaning.
Nowadays, assets face more risks, and it is more necessary to use trusts as risk management tools (to avoid bankruptcy risks, marriage risks, legal risks) and as inheritance tools (to avoid property disputes, inheritance taxes, frozen assets, etc.). Trusts are a useful hedging and inheritance tool. If you want to learn more about trusts, you can attend the family trust seminars held monthly by CCKT family Office or contact us.
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[ 2025-3-6 ]
Revealing the horrifying truth about the fiscal budget.
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The Financial Secretary announced last week that Hong Kong’s fiscal deficit in 2024/25 was 87.2 billion, with fiscal reserves of 647.3 billion. The financial situation is not too bad. Is it true?
(The following contains some figures, which may be boring, but they are of great significance. Please be patient and read the full article.)
Let me first explain that the accounting standards used by the Hong Kong government are close to the "cash flow" type, not the "receivables and payables" type used by the business world. That is, cash received (including loan proceeds) is included in income; cash paid out (including loan repayment) is considered expenditure.
The government's announcement of a fiscal deficit of 87.2 billion in 24/25 actually includes a withdrawal of 15 billion from the epidemic prevention fund and a net income of 107.9 billion from bond issuance. These are considered cash receipts, but they are not real income. Excluding these two "revenues", the deficit calculated on the basis of "receivables and payables" this year is 210.1 billion.
The government claims that the fiscal balance will only have a slight deficit in the next five years, and there will be a surplus starting in 2028/29. But it also includes "revenues" from bond issuance and clawbacks. Excluding these "revenues", there will be a deficit of 262.2 billion in 2025/26, and fiscal reserves have dropped to 262.2 billion, which can only cover the government's expenditure for 3.6 months; by 2029/30, it will be even more negative assets. Please see the table below for details.
Although, in addition to fiscal reserves, the government also has various other reserves and Exchange Fund reserves, these are Hong Kong's last lifebuoys. Once they are used or even used up, Hong Kong's finances will be really unimaginable.
Of course, the initiative to solve the government's fiscal deficit problem lies with the government. The business community should also try its best to cooperate and consider the overall interests of Hong Kong. But the first condition is to clearly disclose the truth and its seriousness to the public. Concealment, delay, etc. will only worsen the situation. Everyone is working towards the common goal of building a better Hong Kong.
(Some pictures are taken from the public Internet. If there is any copyright, please inform us to delete them)
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[ 2025-2-28 ]
Ask the government to get a grant, why must complete Audit Report?
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Many friends say that applying for government grants is difficult, but according to our experience, applying for government grants is not difficult, the real difficulty is whether you can successfully complete the audit in the end and really receive the government grant money.
Why is an audit report needed after a government grant program is complete?
The audit report of government funding is intended to ensure that the funding is used for designated purposes and prevents the funding from being misused.The intention is good. However, many meaningless or non-implementation hurdles have been erected in the implementation, which only adds trouble to applicants and wastes resources. I believe that friends who have applied for government subsidies have "experienced" what it's like.
In fact, in addition to the well-known BUD and TVP, there are many different types of funding that require audit reports, such as: Care Team, Conservation Fund, Youth Fund of the Home Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau, etc.
Our company is a licensed accounting firm with professional qualifications and can conduct audits for clients, including various types of government-funded audit reports.
Friends who have applied for government funding, please contact our company as soon as possible to understand the audit requirements, ensure that various needs are met during the plan, successfully complete the plan and audit, and finally successfully obtain the funding you deserve.
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[ 2025-2-21 ]
New ideas on Chinese New Year group gathering
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Although the New Year has passed, the New Year atmosphere is still strong. Accountants So has also been invited to participate in numbers of government-organized group gathering activities in recent weeks, including the New Year reception organized by the Civil Affairs and Youth Affairs Bureau at the convention and exhibition, group gathering organized by the local civil affairs offices of various regions (such as Central and Western District, Eastern District, etc.). At each group gathering, I saw many new and old friends, and the place was crowded and lively. But it also cost a lot of money and time.
New Year's group gathering certainly has its purpose: it is an opportunity to gather a large group of friends and meet together, saving time for individual meetings. But now in the 21st century, where innovation and new thinking are important, is the significance of group gathering still limited to traditional way? The government currently has a serious financial deficit, and every penny should be used effectively. In economic terms, it means using limited resources to maximize returns. Therefore, can we use new thinking to add more useful elements to the traditional group gathering, so that the money and time spent can have a greater return? For example, you can take the opportunity to announce some government policies, collect public opinion, or directly create more business opportunities for participants, etc. There are many different ways, all of which are feasible.
Hopefully friends from the government and the business community will be more innovative this year, use new thinking, and strive to increase revenue while working hard to reduce expenditure, or maximize the return on expenditure. Let’s work together to tide over the current economic difficulties.
Once again, I wish you all the best of luck, prosperity, and health.
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[ 2025-2-14 ]
Why are there so many scams in Hong Kong? Because no one cares
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Many people (companies) claim to have a TCSP license and are professional company secretaries (companies) licensed by the Hong Kong government. Is this true?
The answer is simple: it is completely wrong; it is misleading, even deceptive.
The TCSP license (Trust and company service provider license) is a method established by the Hong Kong government in 2018 to supervise commercial service providers under the "Anti-Money Laundering Activities" Ordinance. Any business service provider can be licensed as long as it sets up satisfactory anti-money laundering (AML) internal control procedures. The knowledge and experience of the company secretary has nothing to do with it.
Therefore, it is completely a scam to say that having a TCSP license is equivalent to having the ability to work in "company secretarial" services, or being a "professional secretarial company" licensed by the Hong Kong government. But strangely, the regulatory authorities turned a blind eye and ignored it completely. So Hong Kong has gradually become a "scam capital".
Legal company secretarial work, company registration, equity changes, share changes and the operation of company law all require Hong Kong registered company secretaries (now known as Hong Kong Company Specialists) who have professionally studied the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance to properly handle them.
Edward So is a licensed corporate architect (company secretary) in Hong Kong. He has many years of experience in handling Hong Kong companies and offshore companies (such as BVI, Cayman Island, etc.) and can provide customers with comprehensive and effective corporate services. If you have any questions about the company structure or company usage, please feel free to inquire.
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[ 2025-2-7 ]
Everyday is a new day, innovative every year
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Everyday is a new day, innovative every year
We are an innovative company, do you agree?
In order to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Snake, our company has designed a New Year's greeting painting for the Year of the Snake. The content is a modern God of Wealth, opening his arms to wish you good fortune and bringing spring. Next to it is a joyful golden snake, which symbolizes good luck for everyone in the Year of the Snake, and the house is full of gold and silver. The New Year pictures themselves are newly created by our company. What is even more special is that the image of the God of Wealth is also a portrait created by our colleagues. It is unique and expresses the innovative spirit of our company.
Our company's work policy is to use innovative and flexible methods to provide customers with value-added services; we must abandon conservative ideas and rigid methods to achieve the purpose of "growing together with customers and sharing results." Our innovation can be reflected in the way we work. Even as simple as a business card design, it is a novel and non-traditional design that makes people feel modern and energetic.
"Rixin and new" comes from "Book of Rites·University", which means to constantly pursue progress and progress every day. We will uphold the spirit of "new every day" and continue to use innovative and flexible methods to provide customers with effective and useful services.
In the Year of the Snake, I would like to wish all my friends and customers good luck in work, prosperity in business, abundant financial resources, and great profits in the Year of the Snake.
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[ 2025-1-24 ]
New Year is a new beginning? Or just another turn?
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What is New Year? It is the day when the earth circles the sun once, returns to the starting point, and starts again. After a year, do people just follow the old track? Keep making the same mistake? No progression?
On January 7 this year, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department announced that an insurance agent was sentenced to trial in July 2022 for violating the Inland Revenue Ordinance by signing false tax returns and employer tax returns (falsifying employee salaries and parental allowances). He was found guilty of eleven counts of knowingly intending to evade tax and was sentenced to nine months in prison. The appeal was rejected by the High Court on January 7 this year.
In fact, similar cases have occurred many times in the past, but some taxpayers did not learn their lessons and continued the wrong steps of their predecessors, committing the same crime over and over again.
To reduce tax burden, it needs to be done in a legal and reasonable way. Taxpayers should learn more about taxation and learn from the lessons of their predecessors. You can ask more tax professionals for advice, or refer to our company's Facebook, and you will gain a lot.
Our company is a licensed accounting firm in Hong Kong with more than 30 years of experience in handling various tax matters. If you have any tax issues, please feel free to contact our company.
The New Year is coming again. I wish all my friends a happy holiday and a Happy Chinese New Year.
(Some pictures are taken from the public Internet. If there is any copyright, please notify us for deletion)
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