Comparing Employer Costs in East Asia

Payroll taxes are mandatory contributions made by both employers and employees, typically used to fund social security benefits, healthcare systems, and unemployment insurance. These contributions vary significantly across East Asia, impacting your overall employer costs. Here’s a breakdown of the key payroll tax considerations for each country:

In South Korea, the Payroll taxes include the Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Resident Tax, Employment Insurance, Disable hiring fee, National health insurance, National pension and the Long-term Care Insurance. 

As for China, which contains the higher employer costs, the payroll taxes for the city of Shanghai cover Work Injury Fund, Unemployment Fund, the most expensive one that is Pension Fund, Housing Fund, Maternity, Health Insurance and fund for the disabled. (Note: In China, every city has different Payroll Taxes, make sure to check websites like the National Administration of Human Resources and Social Security to equip yourself with the right information for the city you are looking for.)

Hong Kong is the country that covers the least Payroll Taxes for the reason that it only covers the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF). 

In Singapore, the Payroll Taxes cover the Skill Development Levy (SDL) and the Central Provident Fund (CPF).