The Ministry of Finance, together with another three ministries, issued a circular on Jan 27 containing a policy that makes it easier for new college graduates to enjoy tax preferences.

The circular, also issued by the State Administration of Taxation, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Education, said that new college graduates will no longer need to get a “certification of college graduates starting up businesses” before enjoying tax preferential policies.

For fresh college graduates who wanted to enjoy the tax preferences, they needed to get two certifications, one of which was the “certification of college graduates starting up businesses”.

Some college graduates gave up seeking the preferences due to the complicated procedure, said an official of the State Administration of Taxation.

After the ministries decided on Jan 27 to cancel the “certification of college graduates starting up businesses”, the State Administration of Taxation, together with another four ministries, issued another circular on Feb 13 to specify the decision.

The employment outlook is grim due to slower economic growth.

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have thus issued a number of tax preferential policies to boost employment, along with policies to streamline administrative approval procedures, which aim to make the approval process shorter for people who want to start their own businesses.

One of the key tasks for tax policies is to create more jobs, said Li Wanfu, a researcher with the State Administration of Taxation.

This year’s government work report shows that there were more jobs created in 2014 than in 2013, though the economic growth slowed down, and the increase in the number was a result of supportive policies, including tax policies, Li said.