State Taxation Administration head Hu Jinglin announced on July 28 that welfare tax incentives in the first half covering pensions, medical care, and education drove a year-on-year increase of 11.8% in tax reductions. A total of 126 million people benefited from special deductions for personal income tax, up 5.9% from a year earlier, while the tax reduction amount exceeded RMB 320 billion, representing an 8.2% year-on-year increase.