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China's tax and administrative fee cuts totaled 910.1 billion yuan ($142.25 billion) during the first three quarters of 2021, official data showed, a move to reduce the burden on enterprises and enhance the vitality of market entities.

Some 788.9 billion yuan of taxes and 121.2 billion yuan in administrative fees were reduced, according to data provided by the State Taxation Administration on Friday. 

Since the beginning of this year, a mix of tax and fee cuts has been announced aimed at alleviating undue financial burden on businesses and strengthen market vitality, the administration said. 

The Chinese government is focused on practical measures to improve the business environment across the country. China is reviewing a new mix of tax and fee reductions to address challenges confronting small and micro businesses in addition to the self-employed, Premier Li Keqiang said during a visit to the country's top market regulator or the State Administration for Market Regulation, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

These latest remarks represent the third time that Li has commented on tax cuts within half a month. 

With the economy facing new downward pressure, the 100 million-plus market entities in China underpin the fundamentals and resilience of the economy, the premier stated, while calling for a new tax policy mix to be drafted as well as for efforts to continue to guide financial institutions to forgo profits in a reasonable manner and support the real economy.

Experts said that the instability of international supply chains and the impact of changes in commodity prices have caused mid- and downstream enterprises, especially small and micro enterprises to increase their operating costs, noting there is an urgent need to provide more policy support.

In a fresh sign of growth woes, the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.2 for October, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month and contracting for the second consecutive month, mirroring waning industrial activity caused by serious power shortages in parts of the country.  

In order to support manufacturing enterprises, the State Council has decided to defer taxes for small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the fourth quarter starting November 1, backed by an allocation of around 200 billion yuan in funds.

Global Times