This is Beijing-Beijing English blog

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China’s government on Monday announced it would extend its value-added tax (VAT) reform to all industries nationwide from Jan. 1, 2009, to reduce the tax burden on companies by more than 120 billion yuan (17.6 billion U.S. dollars) next year.

The State Council, in an executive meeting, passed in principle regulations on VAT, consumption tax and business tax for promulgation after advised revision.

As part of a stimulus package of 4 trillion yuan to be spent by the end of 2010, the reform was aimed at a shift from the existing production-based to a consumption-based VAT regime, which would enable companies to get tax deductions on spending on fixed assets.

It also scrapped policies that exempted imported equipment from VAT, and removed foreign-funded companies from eligibility for tax rebates on domestic equipment purchases and put them on an equal footing with domestic companies.

The VAT rate for small businesses and the self-employed who fell into the small-scale taxpayers category was reduced to a universal 3 percent from 6 percent for industrial firms and to 4 percent for commercial companies, while the VAT rate for mineral products rose back to 17 percent from 13 percent.

The reform would help encourage technological upgrading at Chinese companies, boost domestic demand, and push for industrial restructuring, said the meeting。

Beijing’s electronic railway ticket selling system, which malfunctioned for about three hours on Saturday morning since 8 a.m., has almost resumed normal operation.

Ticket selling speed once dropped markedly, causing the accumulation of large crowds.

The railway authorities said the system had almost returned to normal by 11 a.m., but the ticket selling speed is still a bit lower than usual.

All the communities in Beijing will build bicycle rent for free in future. All the bycicle rent areas will provide 40,000 to 50,000 bucycles for the citizens to ride for free. According to the news from the 96156 Community Service Center, they will provide free bicycle rent, drive for the drunk driver, ordinay affairs services.

Bicycle rent for free

The center will cooperate with Ibickmedia to provide bicycle rent for free service in the future. This activity has been started and will take about 1 year.

When the project finished, all the citizen can register a card and leave their telephone number. They can rent bicycle for free by their card. Incase some one won’t return the bicycle, all the bicycles will install GPS device

Old people can enjoy care service

Cousult for marriage registration

No Vobember 15 to 16, the fourth annual CNBlogger Conference will be held in Guangzhou.

CNBloggerCon is organized by a diverse collective of bloggers, techies, Internet entrepreneurs, digital activists, teachers. The conference has always been about encouraging grass roots participation.

Now the new recreational vehical appear in Beijing. They are provide by the Capital Rent Company. The company get two this vehicles this time. And thery are not just ordinay vehicle as before. They are designed by Benz.  People who have the C driving licence can rent the recreation vehicle.

The rent price is 2000 per day now.

According to the report, Beijing will build more subways in the future to ease the traffic congestion. And two new subway line No.7 and subway No.24 will strart in this year.

The municipal urban planning commission said on its website that it approved the two new lines on Wednesday. Construction is expected to start before the end of this year although no completion date has been announced.

Line No. 7, will run about 24 kilometers from Beijing West Railway Station to the eastern suburbs. It will connect the city’s most congested traffic area, Tiananmen Square, with key business in the east. In all, there will be 23 stops.

The other new subway route, Line No. 14, will extend nearly 46 kilometers to become the longest urban rail route in the Chinese capital. It will connect the southwestern suburbs, the city’s center and the northeast with a total of 36 stops.

Sources with Beijing Urban Engineering Design and Research Institute, the prime contractor of the subway lines, said they will begin surveying, mapping and designing the lines before unveiling an exact site map to the public.

No figures have been released as to how much the new subway lines will cost.

Beijing’s urban railway system is expected to total 561 kilometers by 2015. Currently, it extends 200 kilometers.

The city opened three new lines in July, ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, bringing the total number of subway lines to eight.

We all hope the new subway will become true and the traffic can be eased.