Shenzhen's eight governmental departments jointly issued 20 measures to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome difficulties and boost high-quality development, sources from the local government’s official WeChat account Live Shenzhen said yesterday.
The eight departments are Shenzhen Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Shenzhen Municipal Science, Technology and Innovation Commission, Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau, Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau, Shenzhen Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Management Commission, Shenzhen Municipal Local Financial Regulatory Bureau and Shenzhen Tax Service of State Taxation Administration.
The measures were proposed in four aspects: reducing enterprises’ production and management costs, effectively expanding the market demand, and supporting SMEs in innovation and transformation.
In terms of lowering SMEs’ costs, the city’s tax bureau will provide tax incentives. Small-scale value-added tax (VAT) payers, with monthly sales less than 100,000 yuan (US$14,750) in 2023, will be exempted from value-added tax. The bureau will also reduce the VAT for other eligible small-scale VAT payers.
Enterprises and institutions are allowed to make up for the delayed social security contributions before Dec. 31. They can pay the contributions by installments and don’t have to pay the overdue fee.
Enterprises and institutions who have difficulties in paying their housing provident fund can also register to postpone the payment for up to 12 months at the city’s housing provident fund management center. The registration deadline is June 30.
The government departments spare no effort in expanding the market demand. They encourage districts to hand out consumption vouchers and organize consumption activities, thus boosting spending and promoting economic revitalization.
The departments will also take measures to support the SMEs in the culture and tourism field. These enterprises will be endowed with grants and be subsidized for their loans and office rents. The beneficiaries include theaters, cinemas and brick-and-mortar bookstores as well as hotels and tourist attractions. Offline sporting events, such as marathons, speeding boat, regatta and cycling competitions, will fully resume starting February. Shenzhen and Bao’an marathons are rescheduled to run in the near future.
According to the measures, the city will assist enterprises in different fields to sell their products in the domestic and international markets. Responsible departments will organize enterprises to take part in exhibitions and promotional events.
The city will strengthen the support for companies engaged in the field of new energy vehicles and new energy storage, giving them a hand in participating exhibitions at home and abroad and exploiting markets at targeted overseas areas.
SMEs will be encouraged to develop cross-border e-commerce. The city will provide training and legal consultation to the companies in cross-border trading and investment.