The vast majority of Chinese provinces have announced specific measures to cut costs for companies to take pressure off industries being hit by the slowing economy, according to China News.
These measures are expected to save Chinese businesses in 25 provinces more than 700 billion yuan ($105 billion) this year, with tax cuts making the biggest contribution at 500 billion yuan, the newspaper reported.
It said lowering taxes will continue to be the focus of reform measures, while value-added tax cuts in the manufacturing sector are already in the pipeline.
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“The key area for tax cuts lies in value-added taxes,” Jiang Zhen, an analyst at China Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying.
Companies have been complaining about difficulties in getting financing, rising wages and land prices and tighter environmental and safety regulations, and some foreign manufacturers have moved to neighboring countries to cut costs.
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The central government has repeatedly called for cutting taxes and slashing fees for companies since the beginning of this year, and various local governments have responded by publishing specific implementation plans, the report said.
China’s leaders are trying to implement painful structural reforms such as cutting overcapacity in traditional industries such as steel, without triggering mass layoffs and a surge in debt defaults that could strain the financial system.