Ningbo slashes 26.2 billion yuan in taxes and fees in the first three quarters of this year. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo slashed 26.2 billion yuan ($3.91 billion) in taxes and fees in the first three quarters of this year, as per statistics recently released by local taxation authorities.

Tax cuts on local enterprises stood at 24.67 billion yuan over the period, accounting for the vast majority of the total.

As a cornerstone of the city's economic growth, the manufacturing sector is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new policies.

Official data shows that 115,000 manufacturing companies in Ningbo benefited from the policies, with tax reductions totaling 11.49 billion from January to September, accounting for 46.5 percent of the total.

The central government's move to ease the burden on enterprises has stimulated market vitality.

As of the end of September this year, there were 90,000 newly-registered market entities in Ningbo, representing a yearly uptick of 8.6 percent. The number of companies registered in the city was 15.6 percent higher than that of January.

A spokesman from Ningbo Conda Art Supplies Group Co revealed that value-added tax levied on the company has been reduced by 15 percent since the nation implemented a new round of reductions on VAT rates on April 1.

The VAT rate for the manufacturing sector was cut by three percentage points to 13 percent. For construction and related sectors, the VAT rate was reduced by one percentage point to 9 percent.

The tax cuts have instilled new confidence in enterprises looking to expand business.

Conda has accelerated business expansion overseas. The company has established research and development centers in the US and Europe and formed partnerships with industry associations from Belt and Road Initiative countries.

As the largest market player, small and micro enterprises have benefited the most from the tax and fee reduction policies.

From January to September, taxes worth 2.66 billion yuan on 508,000 small and micro enterprises in Ningbo were eliminated.

Huang Xujie, who runs a restaurant in Huangkantou village in Yuyao, estimated that the tax and fee reduction policies could save her more than 30,000 yuan this year. She plans to open another restaurant and register a brand.