Staff members disinfect the cabin of an airplane after its arrival at the Haikou Meilan International Airport in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 31, 2020. (Photo by Pu Xiaoxu/Xinhua)

China has unveiled a raft of tax policies to reduce financial burdens on some sectors and support the country's fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

For firms in the transportation, catering, accommodation and tourism sectors, their losses logged in 2020 can be carried over to an extended maximum period of eight years, the country's finance ministry and taxation watchdog said in a statement.

People working in the transportation, life service and daily necessities delivery service sectors will be exempted from the value-added tax.

The government also specified preferential tax policies regarding donations and subsidies for people participating in the epidemic control.

Airlines' payment to the government's civil aviation development fund is also waived, according to the new policy.

The specific tax policies took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and the expiration date will be decided later based on the epidemic situation, according to the statement.