North China's Shanxi province has moved to widen tax reductions as well as exemptions in the services sector, in order to help reboot the novel coronavirus-hit region, according to local officials. 

They said the Shanxi Provincial Tax Service Bureau issued a notice on Aug 17 to further implement the preferential policies for property tax and urban land use tax. 

This was in order to support lessors in reducing or exempting the rents of micro and small-sized enterprises, as well as for individual industrial and commercial rentals in the services industry.

According to the notice, Shanxi is further extending the tax reduction and exemption time limits. 

It is expanding the scope of reductions and exemption conditions and clarifying the scope of eligible lessors and micro and small-sized enterprises.

For example, lessors who reduced or exemptd rents of micro and small-sized enterprises and individual industrial and commercial rentals in the services sector for at least one month in 2020 -- due to the influence of the coronavirus pandemic -- can apply for real estate tax and urban land use tax hardship relief this year. 

Small and micro enterprises mentioned in the notice are small-scale value-added tax taxpayers in the catering, accommodation, tourism, education and training sectors – as well as in the theaters, beauty salons, transportation and exhibition sectors -- that were severely affected by the pandemic. 

Officials said that eligible individual industrial and commercial rentals are not being restricted by industry types.

As of May 31, Shanxi province had reduced or exempted real estate tax of 39.69 million yuan ($5.76 million) and urban land use tax of 2.56 million yuan so far this year.

It did this for large commercial buildings, shopping malls or markets -- to improve the vitality of market entities and ensure people's livelihoods and employment during the outbreak.