BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- With the adoption of sweeping corporate income tax reforms anticipated in March, the country's accounting firms are seeing a surge in business as clients seek advice on the new system.

    When in place, it will be the most important tax reform since the 1990s.

    "The reform should increase our tax consulting business by at least 30 percent," said Pauline Zhang, a tax partner from Deloitte, one of the big four foreign professional service firms in China. PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and Ernst & Young are the other three.

    Shen Yuwen, a tax partner from Ernst & Young, shared Zhang's view, adding "the new tax system will definitely increase our tax business".

    Tax experts believe that unification of corporate income tax which will see a 25 percent levy on both domestic and foreign corporations may help weaker domestic accounting firms develop to fill the gap that now exists between large overseas firms and small local operations.

    "Domestic firms can serve more foreign companies, while overseas firms can serve domestic companies, which is good for the growth of the entire accounting industry," said Alan Tsoi, Asia-Pacific and China M&A Tax Leading Partner from Deloitte.

    The big four often provide tax services for most of the large foreign companies in China, while domestic accountants serve medium- and small-sized local companies.

    "The new tax system looks simple from outside but actually complicates the tax business," said Yang Zhiqing, a taxation professor from the Central University of Finance and Economics. "It's a new law after all, and we need time to study it and put it into practice."

    "It will be more complex than before, which will mean more companies turning to accounting firms, especially the big four, for help to protect their tax interests," said Yang, who added that local companies have also begun to realize the importance of tax planning, which they often ignored in the past.

    The surge of Deloitte's tax business began last October, when the proposed tax bill was first submitted to the central government for review.

    "Since then, we have telephone inquiries nearly every day from both foreign and domestic companies," said Zhang.

    Zhang said some clients hope to have a detailed understanding of the specific impact on their business while others have already signed deals with the firm for tax planning strategies to reduce the tax burden they may face in the future due to the new code.

    "These deals are all large-scale projects that will take us about two months to finish," said Zhang. Her team has completed several consulting studies regarding the upcoming new code for multinational and domestic clients.

    To adapt, companies are either speeding up their investment to make the best use of the tax transition or changing their investment models, said Alan Tsoi.

    Those most immediately affected by the overhaul tax collectors, enterprises and tax agents will all be busier for the next few years as they become accustomed to the new law, he said.

    Heavy workloads are waiting for tax consultants in accounting firms, said Zhang, as they will need to read numerous supplementary notices issued by the government and advise their clients on detailed changes. Most importantly, they must help their clients design suitable tax plans for annual budgets based on the new law.

    As a market leader in the tax business among the big four, Deloitte's 180-member tax department in Beijing will expand further, he said.

    "We will see fast growth for Deloitte in the next five years and the tax department will also enter a peak period."