After Shanghai first launched its new tax refund policy for overseas travelers in 2015, an estimated 337 tax refund stores in the city issued over 40,000 refund forms to around 40,000 overseas visitors by the end of March 2018, Jiefang Daily reported Monday.
It was reported that, since 2015, the total value of tax refund articles in Shanghai reached about 550 million yuan ($87.54 million), while the total amount of all refunded taxes reached almost 60 million yuan. Notably, a luxury watch store on Nanjing Road West sold a watch valued at 2.32 million yuan in 2017, creating a record-high tax refund article in Shanghai.
In 2015, Shanghai and Beijing became the first batches of Chinese cities to launch the new tax refund policy for overseas travelers. The policy has had a positive effect on the local consumer market, and it also has boosted business and tourism development.
