Beijing, Feb 1 (IANS): The Chinese government is set to ease tax burden on four industries -- construction, real estate development, financial services and consumer services -- under its corporate tax reform programme, a media report said on Monday.
The reform seeks to replace sales tax with value-added tax (VAT) thus removing duplication of taxes and easing financial burden on enterprises, the People's Daily reported.
Under the new system, companies will no longer need to pay sales tax based on their revenue.
Tax burden would be eased to the extent of 600 billion yuan ($91.26 billion) this year, said taxation expert Hu Yijian, a professor of finance and economics at Shanghai University.
Prime Minister Li Keqiang has said that a pilot programme involving VAT in place of business tax has been running effectively.