May the "tax incentives for foreign special professionals" and the "tax preferences provided to foreign professionals" be applicable at the same time?

  1. According to “The Scope of Application for Tax Preferences Provided to Foreign Professionals” (promulgated by Decree No. 09804119810 and issued by the Ministry of Finance on March 12, 2010), if an employer hires a foreign professional qualified for the tax preferences, the payment made in accordance with the content of an employment contract may be declared as operation expenses by the employer, such as the round trip air fare of the foreign professionals and his/her family, home leave vacation pay according to the contract, home moving expenses, utility bills, cleaning bills, telephone bills, house rentals, repair costs for place of residence, and educational scholarships for children and such items may be excluded from the taxable income of the foreign professionals.
  2. The “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals” can be applied during the entire employment period. However, the “tax incentives for foreign special professionals” are restricted to the applicable year and with threshold of salary income. Although the content of “tax incentives for foreign special professionals” and “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals” are different, as long as a foreign special professional meets the requirements of these two tax benefits, he/she can apply for both tax benefits simultaneously. In other words, if a qualified foreign special professional also meets the requirements of “tax preferences provided to foreign professionals”, his/her taxable salary income can be calculated in accordance with the “The Scope of Application for Tax Preferences Provided to Foreign Professionals”, and his/her taxable salary may be also calculated based on the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals.