China announces detailed VAT reform measures

BEIJING — Authorities announced detailed measures to implement the country's value-added tax (VAT) reform on March 21 to further reduce the tax burden on various industries.

Starting April 1, taxpayers that are subject to the 16-percent VAT rate on their taxable sales or imported goods will enjoy a 13-percent VAT rate, while those who are subject to the 10-percent VAT rate will only need to pay 9 percent, according to a joint statement released by the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration and the General Administration of Customs.

Buyers of agricultural goods who are subject to a 10-percent deduction rate, which is used to calculate input VAT, will be subject to a 9-percent deduction rate, according to the statement.

The statement also laid out a series of supporting measures for VAT reform such as the extension in the scale of goods and services eligible for input tax deductions.

The announcement came after a State Council’s executive meeting on March 20, which decided that the country will implement a slew of measures to cut the VAT rates, making sure that tax burdens on all industries will only go down, not up.