User Comments - JasonSch

Posted on: Taxable Salary

I wouldn't be surprised if things were very different at university considering that it's directly connected with the state. I think the dialog reflects the situation at private schools (international, or international departments of Chinese schools, training centers) and other companies.

I'm not sure how legal getting a higher 发票 than your actual rent is. I don't think the school is breaking any law b/c it shouldn't be their responsibility to verify if the amount stated on your rental 发票 matches the amount you actually pay.

As for your question: "if the dialogue is actually talking about reducing taxable income by increasing the rent allowance, why don't you say this?"

We did! Those two lines I just pasted above are the part in which the employer explains to the employee how to do this.

A: (However, we can offer our foreign employees housing reimbursement and use the monthly rent to deduct a portion from the income tax.)

B: (Oh. Then how much tax do I have to pay?)

A: (If you can provide a 6,000 kuai receipt for your rent, your taxed income is 12,000 minus 6,000, or, 6,000 kuai. That way you only have to pay 95 kuai in taxes a month.)

B: (That works out really nicely! But, my rent is only 2,500. There's no way my landlord will give me a 6,000 kuai receipt.)

A: (This isn't a big problem. Normally when you go to the tax bureau to have them write a receipt, if you cover the receipt tax, the landlord will be okay with it.)

Posted on: Taxable Salary

Just going to throw this in about the rental allowance bit. The 发票 in the dialog is about just that. When you're given a rental allowance, or a living stipend, you have to provide a 发票 every month, which is untaxed. Having the 发票 made however, is taxed. (I believe it's a percentage of the amount)

So, the idea is that as long as you pay the tax for having the the 发票 made, you can have a larger portion of your income untaxed. That part comes in at these two lines:

A: 如果你能提供每个月6000块的租房发票的话，你的计税工资就是12000减去6000，也就是6000块。那你每个月只需要交95块钱的税。

and

A: 这不是什么大问题。一般来说，去税务局开发票要交的发票税由你来承担的话，房东都会同意的。

In a similar situation, I once worked at a school where instead of being given a real raise, the go-to guy in the department just negotiated a higher rental allowance for the teachers. (= less tax)

This is all related to why you can sometimes negotiate cheaper rent upon renting a place if you don't need a 发票 every month. (and thus, the landlord doesn't have to pay that tax)

It could be different in different places, but this is how I've always understood it!

Posted on: Music Corner in the Park

Very cool. I find the 古琴 to be some of the most captivating music. 很迷人的. You should see if you can get it back up and running. (I have a feeling that lessons/help in the states would be just a little more expensive than around these parts though.)

Posted on: Music Corner in the Park

Burn! Haha, nice one. :) It's true, I'm the office 光头 these days. It's just shaved really short though, not true baldness yet. (at least I don't think so...)

Posted on: Music Corner in the Park

I gotta say, I've been meaning to start learning the 古琴 for a long time. I love this instrument. I went as far as finding a teacher, but became super busy and never got around to it. I'd like to start in the near future if I can though. Now I just have to grow out these nails of mine...

Posted on: 少数民族

泼水节 is of course, = the water festival. Not sure how that got down there, but we'll have it fixed soon. Thanks.

Posted on: Too Many Food Allergies

可是 has two main meanings. One being, 'but' and the other being a way to add emphasis to what follows. So, something like 'really is...'.

In the dialog, the line is: 鱼可是你伯母的拿手菜. So, the 可是 here is emphasizing that fish (truly) is the uncle's speciality.

Hope that helps!

Posted on: Construction

The 搅拌机 is the stationary device for mixing cement. For a cement truck, I'm pretty sure you're right on the mark: 水泥车.

Posted on: The Frog Prince in the Well

I like it!

Posted on: Construction

Good guess! Apparently it's 天生杀人狂 which would literally be something more along the lines of "Natural Born Homicidal Maniacs".