China would enhance supports to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) next year with preferential tax policy and easier channels to raise fund, a senior official said Thursday.

Li Yizhong, minister of Industry and Information Technology, told members of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee that the government has set up a special fund under the central budget to promote the development of SMEs and increased input into the fund each year.

The government earmarked 10.89 billion yuan (US $1.59 billion) from the central budget to support SMEs development this year, more than doubled from 4.99 billion yuan in 2008, Li said.

At the end of September, China has 10.3 million registered enterprises, of which the SMEs accounted for more than 99 percent, he said.

According to China's regulation, SMEs refers to enterprises whose annual business revenue is below 300 million yuan. But in retail and accommodation industry, the maximum annual business revenue is 150 million yuan for an SME.

The SMEs, hit hard by the global financial crisis, were recovering thanks to the government's economic stimulus package, Li said. Their output during the January-September period this year equaled to about 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

According to Li, small low-profit enterprises with an annual taxable income not exceeding 30,000 yuan could next year calculate their taxable income at 50 percent of the actual income and pay enterprise income tax at a rate of 20 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2009)