Shanghai offers 140-billion yuan lifeline in tax rebates, rent exemptions and financial subsidies to help businesses survive city’s phased lockdown
- Shanghai’s authorities offered 140 billion yuan in tax rebates, cut a range of fees, and exempted certain designated companies from paying rent for three months
- The government also instructed banks to offer low-interest bridging loans to help companies whose businesses were hurt by the city’s lockdown.
Local authorities offered 140 billion yuan (US$22 billion) in tax incentives, cut a range of fees, and exempted certain designated companies from paying rent for three months, according to an online press briefing on Tuesday.. The government said it would cut its value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax.
The government also instructed banks to offer low-interest bridging loans to help companies whose businesses were hurt by the city’s lockdown.
“The package of incentives is strong, [and is aimed at helping] troubled businesses keep jobs,” said Ruan Qing, the deputy director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission during the press briefing. “We take an open attitude towards policymaking, and will adjust our policies to better cater to the demands of the virus-hit companies.”
Shanghai has reported nearly 20,000 Covid-19 infections since March 1, raking up more cases in four weeks than the past two years of the pandemic, putting its much-lauded containment strategy at risk.