Fines and fees fall heaviest on the smallest companies

Editors note: The State Council, China's Cabinet, has urged State-owned banks to lower the interest rate for loans to small and micro-sized enterprises by 1 percentage point in the fourth quarter. Columnist Qin Shuo comments in a post:

It is good to see the central government is continuing its efforts to help private enterprises to obtain affordable financing.

Yet compared with the difficulties they face in getting loans and their tax burdens - which are now more transparent and better regulated than before thanks to the central government's endeavors - it is the variety of fees and fines collected by different departments of local governments that are the heaviest burden on enterprises.