BEIJING - China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Friday that it will cut corporate income tax by half for micro-and-small-sized enterprises to facilitate their growth amid financial strains.

The ministry deems enterprises with annual corporate income of no more than 60,000 yuan as micro-and-small-sized companies. After the adjustment, their tax base will be cut by 50 percent while the tax rate remains 20 percent, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

The new policy will take effect between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015,

The government announced a raft of measures this year to boost cash-strapped small businesses, including raising the threshold of value-added tax and exempting administrative fees.