Charitable giving in China is increasing and with the new tax incentives being implemented in the upcoming years, it will continue to grow.
The article, China's rich give back as philanthropy surges, cited that the top 50 publicly-disclosed philanthropists in China have given a total of $10.9 billion so far this year. The philanthropists have supported social welfare causes, healthcare and poverty alleviation.
However, charitable donations work a little differently in this part of the world. Donations by individuals are restricted to fewer than 20 charities approved by the government.
In addition, individuals can offset just 2% of their salary against tax for charitable donations. This will increase to 12% next year. This number is still low compared to 25% in Hong Kong and 20% in Taiwan. Therefore, the wealthy Chinese are establishing foundations in Hong Kong instead of China to take advantage of the greater tax incentives.
Also surprising? 30% of China's millionaires are women.
With former President Bill Clinton hosting his annual philanthropist summit in Hong Kong next year, I am sure we will hear more about the growing number of Chinese philanthropists.
To learn more about philanthropy and the laws of charities in Asia, please visit the Asian Pacific Philanthropy Consortium site.
The article, US Teaches Asia a Lesson on Philanthropy, mentions why Chinese donors are giving to US universities (Gordon Wu gave $100 million to Princeton).
