China 'closely watching' Trump's tax cut plan: govt official

[February 24, 2017]  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is "closely watching" tax cut plans by U.S President Donald Trump, even as the country keeps its corporate tax rate unchanged, a senior finance ministry official said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 23, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

President Trump plans to announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks, the White House said earlier this month.

"We are closely watching and following corporate tax policy adjustments in the United States and other countries," Zhang Tianli, vice head of the ministry's department of tax policy, told reporters on the sidelines of a briefing. "We are studying plans to respond."

China's revised corporate tax law, which was approved by parliament this week, kept the standard corporate tax rate at 25 percent although it gave firms more leeway to make profit deductions when they make charitable donations, Zhang said.

Some Chinese and foreign-funded companies have complained about rising business costs, including high tax burdens.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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