China will step up tax and fee cuts next year to stabilize economic growth and promote high-quality development, the country’s taxation authority has said, pledging to provide stronger support to smaller firms.

The newly added tax and fee cuts in 2021 are expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 157 billion U.S.

dollars), Wang Jun, head of the State Taxation Administration said at an annual meeting, noting that the total tax and fee reduction topped 8.6 trillion yuan over the past six years.

China has deferred an estimated 200 billion yuan of tax payments for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector in 2021 to help them address difficulties and shore up the industrial economy, Wang said.

The government has vowed to scale up tax and fee cuts in 2022 and strengthen support for small and medium-sized enterprises, individually-run businesses and manufacturing.

The country will also take further steps to tighten oversight and regulation on taxes in 2022, and to impose severe punishments on all forms of tax evasion, the meeting said.