Will a tax rebate rejuvenate China’s restaurant industry?

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According to a Southern Daily 南方日报 report, Wang Huiying (王惠英), vice inspector of the “Trade in Services and Commercial Services Department” of Ministry of Commerce, revealed that the Ministry is seeking to lower the business tax rate for restaurants from the current level of 5% to 3%. Speaking at a recent restaurant industry conference, Wang also said that the ministry also seeks to lower the fees that banks charge for credit card transactions.

The restaurant industry has been struggling because of rising wages and rents as well as government’s austerity policies. Worth noting is that Wang said the tax reduction will likely to only apply to low-and middle-end restaurants, so at least for the more expensive ones, now is still not the time to celebrate the end of austerity.

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