Preferential policies to cut tax load of SMEs

China is contemplating more measures to ease the tax burden of small and medium-sized enterprises, amid the accelerated production resumption, officials said on Tuesday.

Preferential tax policies for reinvestments by overseas companies will be enacted to further support the development of foreign businesses in China, while the roster of industries eligible for foreign investment will be further revised, said Wang Daoshu, chief auditor of the State Taxation Administration.

Taxpayers will be allowed to report their taxes in April based on the first quarter income, and the tax collection period will be extended to April 24 from April 20. The tax data will partly reflect the production resumption situation, while big data technology will be used to track the company reopening, said Cai Zili, an official with the STA.

Tax cuts and fee reductions totaled 402.7 billion yuan ($56.6 billion) in January and February, and nearly 158.9 billion yuan of it was in new tax cuts implemented after the novel coronavirus outbreak to counter downward pressure on the economy, especially to support small and medium-sized companies, according to the administration.