About 730 million farmers will benefit from tax cuts totaling
more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) this year as 26 of
China's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions will
terminate all agricultural taxes, according to Vice Minister of
Agriculture Fan Xiaojian.
Fan, speaking at a working conference held Friday and Saturday
in east China's Shandong
Province, attributed the achievement to support policies issued
by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the
State Council at beginning of this year.
Only Hebei,
Shandong, Yunnan
and Gansu
provinces and Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region will continue to charge agricultural
taxes, although they will reduce the amount by two percentage
points this year. These regions will reduce taxes by two percentage
points in 2005.
China's goal is to abolish all farming taxes within five
years.
(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2005)
