Reduce heavy burden of fees on enterprises

ZONG QINGHOU, founder of China's largest beverage company, Hangzhou Wahaha Group in East China's Zhejiang province, said in an interview a month ago that his company paid over 40 million yuan ($5.8 million) in mandatory fees between January and November last year. Beijing News commented on Friday:

In response to Zong's complaint about the more than 500 different fees his company has to pay, the Ministry of Finance and the National Development and Reform Commission on Wednesday provided documented evidence that the Hangzhou Wahaha Group paid 212 different fees totaling 74 million yuan in 2015.

The fees may not seem like a big deal in comparison to Wahaha's 49.4 billion yuan profits that year. But let us not forget: Many could be justifiably avoided in the long-term interest of the company. And the exemption of unnecessary charges could make a life-or-death difference for small companies struggling to keep afloat.