Poorer areas to benefit, says online business operator

Tax cuts will not just benefit small businesses in vibrant centers such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, Guangdong province, but some of the poorer areas of the country as well, according to Liang Qianjuan.

The 32-year-old runs Longshan Zhuangyuan, an online store in Longnan, a small village in Gansu province, on which she sells local produce such as honey, dried long beans, almonds and eggs to customers nationwide.

"Tax and fee cuts will release money to greatly improve the daily production and profit margins of the enterprise," she said.

"Primarily, we will use the money we save to invest in new product development and to increase payments to farmers."

Zhang Haibo, president of the High People's Court of Gansu, who speaks on small business issues, said the cuts are very important to the local economy.

He said the province plans to reduce taxes for its small and microbusinesses, in addition to 347 million yuan ($51.7 million) in reductions last year.

"We listen to enterprises, and directly try to address their problems and solve their difficulties," he said.

"Private business is strongly related to the economy of the whole province. If private business thrives, then the economy of Gansu will be strong."

Zhang said the provincial government is trying to be as proactive as possible in developing the small business sector.

"We listen to enterprises, directly face their problems and try to solve them," he said.

Zhang, who is a deputy to the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislative body, went to Guangdong as a migrant worker after finishing middle school.

While working in the southern province she developed computer skills and decided to return home to Gansu to set up an e-commerce business.

She is part of a broader trend of rural residents using e-commerce platforms to sell agricultural produce.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, online sales of agricultural produce increased by 33.8 percent last year to 230.5 billion yuan.

Zhang said the latest tax cuts are likely to have a feel-good effect, making businesses realize that the government is on their side.

Wang Ziwei, Ma Si and Ma Jingma contributed to this story.