CHINA strengthened several tax and fee relief measures to support the development of businesses and bolster the real economy this year, official data showed Monday.

Newly implemented measures led to tax refunds, tax and fee cuts and deferrals amounting to 1.66 trillion yuan (US$233.28 billion) in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the State Taxation Administration (STA).

Taxpayers in the private sector became the primary beneficiaries of the country’s tax and fee relief measures, the STA said.

Nearly 1.24 trillion yuan of tax and fee payments was rebated, deducted or deferred for China’s private businesses during the period, accounting for nearly 75% of the country’s total.

Among all sectors, manufacturing and related wholesale and retail industries benefited the most from the support, the data showed.

China’s central bank also said Monday it will continue to enhance financial support for private enterprises and work to lower their comprehensive financing costs.

In the next stage, more monetary policy support will be tilted towards private micro and small companies, the People’s Bank of China said in its latest monetary policy report for the third quarter.

The report said that positive results have been achieved through measures such as encouraging commercial banks to issue special financial bonds for micro and small firms, and supporting the financing of private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain.

By the end of September, China’s inclusive loan support facility had provided incentive funds of 52.6 billion yuan for micro and small companies, up 25.1 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, the report said.(Xinhua)