Charities: Bureaucracy and tax laws deter Chinese corporate donations

According to Chen Xinnian, of the National Development and Reform Commission, only 100,000 Chinese companies have a history of donating to charity. This may seem a lot but the figure represents just one per cent of China's ten million registered companies.

However, there does appear to be a valid reason for the small percentage of corporate donors -the current tax law under which corporations' donations are exempted from income tax if the amount is within 3 percent. The ratio is 30 percent for individuals.

Red tape is also an obstacle and China View cites one example of a bureaucratic nightmare. One donor explains how he once went through 10 official procedures in two months in order to get $6.16 tax exemption for his $61.60 donation.