Supportive tax policies can ensure fewer people lose jobs

At a news briefing on Tuesday, Dai Shiyou, an official from the State Administration of Taxation, said that thanks to a series of tax and fee reduction policies adopted by the government, more than 80 percent of the country's privately or individually-owned businesses now do not need to pay taxes, and the average monthly tax paid by eligible businesses is 40 percent lower than that in 2019.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individual businesses have faced greater pressure in the past two years. To alleviate their difficulties, the State Council, China's Cabinet, has introduced a number of policies and various localities have also worked out relevant measures, such as targeted tax and fee cuts, reducing their burdens and increasing their ability to cope with hardships.

According to the information disclosed at the news conference, the country's preferential tax and fee policies have covered all such businesses, and from 2020 to the end of September this year, a total of 1,027.2 billion yuan ($141.10 billion) of tax and fee reduction was achieved.

For many small businesses in China, preferential tax policies have achieved not only the effect of "releasing water to save fish", meaning saving businesses from closure in the event of extreme difficulties, but also the effect of "releasing water to raise fish", meaning helping them develop better despite difficulties.

When preferential tax and fee policies cover all individual businesses, it not only promotes the development of such market players, but also plays a positive role in improving people's livelihood. Once individual businesses are shut down, individual operators or families will look for self-employment. At present, the number of such businesses in China has reached 111 million, creating nearly 300 million jobs. However, giving tax incentives can stop many people from losing their jobs.

The Regulation on Promoting the Development of Individual Businesses, which came into force on Tuesday, stipulates that the State implements fiscal and tax policies conducive to the development of individual businesses, and the governments at or above the county level and relevant departments should strictly implement relevant fiscal and tax supports to ensure all policies are targeted and cover all of them. So far, the country's preferential tax policies are generally well implemented, but there are still random fee collections and arbitrary fines in some localities, which require more precise measures to tackle.