Highlights of news conference of the Ministry of Finance

Liu Kun, minister of Finance, and Vice Ministers Cheng Lihua and Liu Wei answered questions regarding reform of fiscal and taxation system and financial issues at a press conference during the second session of the 13th National People's Congress on March 7, 2019.

Here are the highlights:

Tax cuts a top priority: Liu Kun

China will further VAT reform in 2019 to ensure tax will only be cut rather than increased, the Minister of Finance said. The total taxes and fees to be cut this year may exceed the governmental target of 2 trillion yuan, according to minister Liu Kun.

The VAT rate will be lowered from 16 percent to 13 percent for the manufacturing sector, and from 10 percent to 9 percent for transportation and construction sectors, Liu said.

The country will promote inclusive tax cut and structural tax cut simultaneously, lowering tax burden of manufacturing and small and micro enterprises.

Meanwhile, the government will continue to relieve the burden on businesses, lower contribution rates that enterprises must pay for the basic pension insurance, and the required contribution rates could be cut to 16 percent.