Beijing — August 17, 2011 — In a recent official reply made by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Beijing has been approved to levy a local education surcharge with effect from 1 January 2012. According to the reply, the local education surcharge will be imposed on units and individuals, including foreign-invested enterprises, foreign companies and foreign individuals, who pay VAT, consumption tax and business tax in the administrative areas of Beijing, at the rate of 2% of the actual taxes (the above three taxes) paid by affected taxpayers.