China's tax refunds, as well as tax and fee cuts and deferrals reached 2.58 trillion yuan (about 384 billion U.S. dollars) from the beginning of this year to June 25, as the country unveiled a slew of supportive policies to ease enterprises' burden, official data showed Thursday.

 

Among the total, value-added tax credit refunds hit 1.83 trillion yuan, 2.8 times the annual amount of last year, while preferential tax and fee reduction policies helped companies save 285.9 billion yuan, Cai Zili, an official with the State Taxation Administration told a press conference.

 

The deferred payment of tax and fees during the period came in at 463.2 billion yuan, effectively helping enterprises increase their cash flows, Cai said.

 

Priorities have been given to small businesses as nearly 70 percent of the tax and fee support went to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

 

Last year, China's tax and fee reductions totaled more than 1 trillion yuan, according to this year's government work report.

 

Data from the administration also showed that China's economic recovery accelerated with the implementation of a package of pro-growth measures.