
BEIJING, Dec. 28 -- China's value-added tax (VAT) reforms will be implemented across all industries in 2016, an official with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Monday.
The country will replace business tax with VAT in the remaining four industries -- finance, construction, property and consumer services, according to Lou Jiwei, head of the MOF.
Business tax refers to a levy on the gross revenue of a business while VAT refers to a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its cost of production. A pilot scheme on business tax-to-VAT was tested in 2012 and gradually been expanded to industries including transportation, telecommunication and postal service.
One objective of VAT reform is to alleviate the corporate tax burden. From 2012 to the first half of 2015, the measure has resulted in tax savings of over 484.8 billion yuan (75 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 0.2 percent of GDP in the period, according to a report by China International Capital Corp. Ltd. (CICC), the country's first joint venture investment bank.
Once all industries shift to VAT in 2016, the overall tax saving will be more than 900 billion yuan, or 0.4 percent of GDP, CICC predicted.
VAT can encourage firms to outsource more services rather than adopting a do-it-all business model, promoting the development of the service sector and the upgrading of manufacturing industries, the report added.
Are these the world’s scariest landing strips?
In pics: Left behind children in China
Eight modern day engineering marvels of China
Chinese beauty with sexiest bottom
Charming female bodybuilders of Chengdu University
Polish sports stars strip off for risqué calendar
Spectacular aerial photos of the Three Gorges
Contestants of Mrs. Globe pose for photo in Shenzhen
Bikini models attend hot pot banquet in Hefei
Top 20 hottest women in the world in 2014
Top 10 hardest languages to learn
10 Chinese female stars with most beautiful faces
China’s Top 10 Unique Bridges, Highways and Roads
Japan’s propaganda war on Diaoyu absurd
Models best placed to defend their own health
Professor defies taboos to get the elderly talking about sex
Developers hope AI will be able to ace?gaokao?in near futureDay|Week