According to Xinhua News Agency, on October 18, Li Keqiang, Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, chaired a symposium on the pilot work of expanding business tax to VAT. He emphasized that structural tax reduction should be taken to promote structural adjustment and reform, business transformation should be taken as an important priority, industrial upgrading should be promoted, industrial innovation and transformation should be promoted, service industry and small and medium-sized enterprises should be accelerated, and fiscal and taxation system should be reformed and perfected so as to add momentum and vitality to the long-term, stable and rapid economic development.Pilot effect in ShanghaiReducing Enterprise Tax Burden by More than 17 BillionAt the symposium, the responsible comrade of the Shanghai Municipal Government introduced that, since this year, through the implementation of the pilot project of business transformation and increase in transportation and some modern service industries, the tax burden of pilot enterprises and downstream enterprises has been reduced by more than 17 billion yuan, the rapid growth of service industry has been achieved by more than 10%, the utilization of foreign capital in service industry has increased by more than 20%, and a number of industrial enterprises have achieved a rapid growth. Separation of the main and the auxiliary has been achieved, and competitiveness has been enhanced.Pilot SMEsThe average tax cut was 40%.There are more than 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises in China, accounting for more than 95% of the total number of enterprises, creating 50% of the national tax revenue and 80% of urban employment. Li Keqiang was delighted to hear that all the small-scale taxpayers who participated in the pilot project had achieved a reduction of their burdens, with an average reduction of 40%. He pointed out that with the expansion of the pilot scope, more small and medium-sized enterprises, especially micro-enterprises, will benefit, promote employment and entrepreneurship, promote large and medium-sized enterprises supporting each other, and enhance overall competitiveness and vitality.