Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of tax revenue in pulling off economic transformation, improving people’s lives and fostering consumption growth, while inspecting the Ministry of Finance on March 21.

He said finance is the root of all government affairs, while the enterprise is the basis for finance. Deepening the value-added tax (VAT) reform has huge significance, as it would help inspire the vitality of market entities, withstand the economic downward pressure, improve economic structure and promote social justice, said the Premier.

He said that while fulfilling the VAT reform, the government should make sure that tax burdens are clearly decreased in major industries, and that taxes only go down, not up, in all industries, allowing the real benefits from tax cuts to trickle down to enterprises.