China announced Thursday a package of preferential tax treatment to poultry sector, in a bid to help the sector tide over the impact brought by avian flu outbreaks.

The Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Taxation said tax departments will exempt value added tax on poultry meat processing through returning the value added tax on poultry meat the time it was collected from poultry processing firms during November 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006.

The government would also exempt poultry farming and processing business from corporate tax this year, and it will make preferential tax arrangement for those firms next year based on real situation of the sector, the two departments said in a statement.

Companies or individuals will also be exempted from corporate or individual income tax on the State subsidies they were given for their poultry culled to contain the spread of deadly avian flu virus, according to the statement.

The two departments authorize provincial finance and tax administration to cut or exempt land-use tax, or real estate tax and vessel-use tax rates they collect from poultry companies or farmers in the first half of next year.

Outbreaks of avian flu have been reported in many areas across China, and the Ministry of Agriculture has said China is confident about bringing them under control.

(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2005)