Zhong Shanshan Criticizes E-commerce Tax Perks; OECD Sees 33 Nations Offer R&D Incentives

On August 8, 2026, Zhong Shanshan, founder of Nongfu Spring, criticized e-commerce platforms for using algorithms to levy opaque commissions that squeeze the profits of physical retailers, while they enjoy tax benefits reserved for high-tech enterprises. Since 2024, he has repeatedly expressed similar views in public. He argued that the state's 15% preferential tax rate for high-tech enterprises is intended to support hard-technology companies that continuously conduct research and development and transform their results. However, for some e-commerce platforms, the core business is commission collection rather than R&D, so their eligibility for the benefit is misaligned with their commercial substance. According to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among its 38 member countries, the number offering R&D tax relief increased from 19 in 2000 to 33 in 2025. In 2025, across the 55 jurisdictions surveyed, the effective average tax rate on R&D activities after incentives was only 14%, lower than the standard rate of 21.5%. More than 50 countries or regions worldwide have implemented similar R&D tax incentive policies. These incentives aim to correct market failures: basic R&D involves large upfront investment, high risk, long cycles, and spillover effects, leaving companies with insufficient willingness to invest based on market forces alone. Since 2025, China has investigated and penalized more than 6,600 enterprises identified as 'fake high-tech' companies.