Tax Transparency and Sustainability Reporting in China: Double Materiality, International Models and a Phased Reform Path

This article assesses whether and how tax transparency can be incorporated into China’s sustainability reporting framework. While the 2024 stock exchange Sustainability Report Guidelines and the Basic Standard have established a reporting framework based on double materiality, tax is still not treated as a stand-alone topic and is not supported by tax-specific guidance for disclosure. The article argues that tax should be understood as a material governance issue in sustainability reporting. Using Global Reporting Initiative 207, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive/European Sustainability Reporting Standards framework, EU public country-by-country reporting and the OECD approach as reference points, it assesses China’s current position and proposes a phased reform path.