Vintage cars show kicks off in London
Gorgeous scenery in NE China
Picturesque Barkol grassland in Xinjiang
Small Wild Goose Pagoda - A World Cultural Heritage Site along the Silk Road
Maritime Silk Road Luxuries of the Han Dynasty
Ciao! Chinese beauties!
An eye feast: BFA freshmen registration
Top 10 most lavish weddings
Most amazing chi-pao beauties
Chinese lingerie brand arrives in Las Vegas
BEIJING, Sept. 17 -- More small businesses in China will enjoy tax breaks as part of the government's efforts to promote their growth and counter pressure on economic growth, the State Council announced following a meeting on Wednesday.
From Oct. 1 to the end of 2015, any company with a monthly revenue under 30,000 yuan (4,886 U.S. dollars) will be exempted from value-added tax and business tax, according to a statement.
Currently, the threshold for the favorable policy is 20,000 yuan.
The move comes after the State Council announced in April that companies with annual taxable income under 100,000 yuan will have their business income tax halved from Jan. 1 this year till the end of 2016.
A statement issued after the meeting, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, deemed small and micro firms as the "main force" of development, the "main channel" for job creation and an "important source of innovation."
The Chinese government is also mulling other support measures for small businesses, said the statement.
It was decided at the meeting to accelerate removal of unnecessary certification and qualification procedures so as to "lower the threshold and eliminate hurdles" for small firms.
Financing support is also set to be enhanced. The government said it will use "subsidies" and "incentives" to encourage financial institutions to provide more finance to small firms.
The statement also promised subsidies for small firms employing people with difficulties in finding jobs, as well as free training to help them secure big data information services supported by cloud computing.
The State Council urged all regions and departments to make sure all these policies are implemented as soon as possible, without giving a detailed timetable.
Small and micro firms are a vital foundation for Chinese economic growth. By the end of 2013, there were about 11.7 million such companies in China, accounting for 76.6 percent of the total number of firms in the country, according to the State Administration of Taxation.
Advanced arms help to safeguard China-ASEAN Expo
Leading director Wang Quan'an detained for 'buying sex'
Heaven on earth: Dongjiang Lake in Hunan
Mixed reaction to smartphone sidewalk
'Rainbow running' race in Jiangxi
Amazing aerial photos of China's Xisha Islands
Chinese Buddhist Canon blesses Hong Kong
Beautiful postgraduate teaches in remote area
Top 10 world's highest-paid models 2014
Lingerie show at 2014 Miss China
Songstress Li Xianglan dies at 94
Police recruiting posters
Anshun Daxi- Living fossil of Chinese drama
Urban farmers in China
'Firepower-2014 Weibei'military exerciseDay|Week|Month