BEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China has decided to raise rebates of value added taxes for textile and garment exporters to 17 percent from 14 percent to help them ride out a drop in overseas demand, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.
The 21st Century Business Herald did not cite a source for its report, which if confirmed, would mean the government is refunding the full 17 percent of the sales price that is levied as VAT.
China has already increased VAT refunds twice this year for the textiles sector, a big employer of semi-skilled labour.
The latest increase, from 13 percent, took effect on Nov. 1.
The newspaper said the State Council also decided in a meeting on Wednesday to stop requiring low-end export processing firms to deposit cash with local banks between the time they import inputs and export the finished product, a move introduced in 2007 to curb such firms' cash flow.
The cabinet said after Wednesday's meeting that it would offer more tax breaks for textile, garment and some other light industrial firms, but it did not provide details.
China, which on Nov. 9 unveiled a stimulus package of 4 trillion yuan to boost domestic demand through 2010, has made it a top priority to protect jobs at a time of looming global recession..