Tianjin approves financial measures to help SMEs during outbreak

North China's coastal municipality Tianjin rolled out a series of measures on Friday to help small- and medium-sized enterprises get through the on-going virus prevention and control period when their businesses might be impacted, according to a circular by the city's government.

The circular regulates a total of 21 supporting measures in various fields, including administrative approval, importation, tax and finance. The measures are in effect until the three months after the epidemic ends, which is unknown.

This is different from some other municipalities, like Chongqing, which has pinpointed the effective date as June 30, which was announced on Tuesday.

To reduce the burden on companies, many of which have been ordered to postpone resumption of business to lower the risk of spreading the virus, Chongqing will cut a certain amount of tax or extend time limits for tax declaration, the circular said.

Zhu Chunli, chief accountant, Tianjin Municipal Tax Service, State Taxation Administration, further noted that the total income tax deduction could hit 15 percent for those national-level new and high-tech enterprises.

Those SMEs that have difficulty paying the tax can postpone the date to pay under certain conditions, he said.

The city also supports research institutions, colleges and innovative enterprises to do research in areas of treatment methods, drugs, detecting techniques and medical equipment that can be used in the fight against the novel coronavirus.