After the closing of the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress on the morning of March 11, Premier Li Keqiang attended a press conference in the Golden Hall on the third floor of the Great Hall of the People and answered questions from Chinese and foreign reporters.

　　CNBC reporter: Research by the National Finance and Development Laboratory shows that fee reductions are the most helpful to small businesses, followed by tax reductions.

Can you share with us specific data on the impact of tax cuts and fee reductions?

In addition, due to the slowdown in the development of the real estate market, local government finances have been reduced. What are your considerations in this regard?

In terms of consumption, will the government consider adopting similar policy measures such as issuing consumer coupons?

　　Li Keqiang: The conclusion must be supported by theory and practice.

Judging from our practice in the past few years, the effect of tax reduction and fee reduction is the most direct.

I remember talking to more than a dozen entrepreneurs in the eastern region last year. They talked about the difficulties in the operation of enterprises and hoped that the state would introduce some macro support policies.

I said at the time that the central government has policy reserves, but they need to be used centrally.

There are three choices, but you can only do multiple choice questions, that is, choose one out of three.

One is massive investment, maybe you can get orders.

The second is to issue consumer coupons, which may directly stimulate consumption.

The third is to reduce taxes and fees for enterprises, stabilize employment, and promote investment and consumption.

They were silent for a while, then answered almost in unison, we chose the third option.

Because this is the most direct, fair and efficient.

Judging from the relevant reports I received this year, tax cuts and fee reductions are generally regarded as the first expectation for the government's macro policies.

It seems that fertilization has to be applied to the roots, so that the roots can flourish.

　　Li Keqiang: I have also seen in the materials that some people worry that tax cuts and fee reductions have been implemented for several years, whether the marginal effect has diminished, that is to say, the effect is not as great as before.

The large-scale tax reduction and fee reduction we implemented this time is a combination of tax rebates and fee reductions, with a scale of 2.5 trillion yuan.

When the economy was hit the hardest in 2020, we had such a large policy scale, and we finally survived, and this time we adjusted the structure and put tax rebates in the front.

The so-called tax rebate is based on the design of the tax system. For market entities, it is similar to the tax amount that is paid first and then returned. We adopt the method of early tax rebate, which is to refund the remaining tax amount to the enterprise at one time, with a scale of more than 1.5 trillion yuan.

If the effect is good, we will increase our efforts.

　　Li Keqiang: We give priority to small and micro enterprises in tax rebates, because small and micro enterprises are large and wide-ranging, support a large number of employed people, and now is the time when their funds are the most tense and most difficult, so we will be before the end of June this year. The tax credits of enterprises will be refunded at one time, and the tax credits of some key industries such as manufacturing and R&D services will be fully resolved within the year, and the incremental tax credits for small and micro enterprises will be resolved monthly.

When I participated in the discussion at the CPPCC, a member of the CPPCC was an entrepreneur, and he told me that compared with other measures such as tax cuts, fee reductions and investment, tax rebates came the fastest and the best.

There may be many setbacks in running a project. The tax rebate is equivalent to direct cash for the company and increased cash flow, which is a timely rain.

It seems that saying a thousand words is worse than doing a real thing, and this key measure must be put in place.

　　Li Keqiang: Tax rebates and fee reductions are subtractions, but in essence they are additions, because a refund today will increase tomorrow, and a reduction today may result in an increase tomorrow.

Last year, the amount paid by the newly added tax market entities exceeded the amount we reduced the tax that year. This is well documented.

Since 2013, when we implemented the value-added tax reform, guided by tax reduction, the cumulative reduction was 8.7 trillion yuan. At that time, our fiscal revenue was about 11 trillion yuan. Last year, it exceeded 20 trillion yuan, an increase of nearly doubling.

Because the enterprise has benefited in this process, the so-called benefit is that its benefit has increased.

The so-called deep water fish return, more water and more fish, this is to conserve tax sources, cultivate and strengthen market players.

　　Li Keqiang: You mentioned just now that local fiscal revenue has encountered new difficulties, and we have noticed it.

Therefore, the increase in transfer payments from the central government to local governments this year is rare in many years, with an increase of 18% and a total scale of 9.8 trillion yuan.

Tax rebates are mainly paid for by the central government, and of course local governments also have to "make up for it".

The money from our tax rebate goes directly to the enterprises. Considering the difficulties of the grassroots, our transfer payment subsidy funds for the grassroots go directly to the grassroots below the city and county level.

Our local government wants to be an "iron rooster", not a penny of the money it should not spend, and not a penny of the money that should be given to the market players.

thanks.

　　(Organized according to web text live broadcast)