China to simplify VAT rates: official

BEIJING - Vice Finance Minister Shi Yaobin said on Friday that China will simplify VAT rates in the future to ease company tax burdens.

"The current tax system has too many tiers and may confuse policy implementation and impede fair competition," Shi said during a press conference, promising to make tax rates easier to follow. VAT rates have four levels, ranging from 6 to 17 percent.

Shi did not provide a timetable or other details of the changes.

The VAT system was rolled out nationwide in May, in place of business tax, after successful pilots. By the end of October, 96.5 billion yuan (about 14 billion U.S. dollars) had been saved by businesses. Taking into account other tax reductions, the government expects a total of 500 billion yuan to be saved this year.

China will continue to improve its VAT system by pushing forward the legislation at a proper time, Shi said.