(Yicai) Aug. 29 -- China said it will extend the preferential income tax policies that have benefitted foreign workers in the country through the end of 2027.

The tax breaks on housing, language learning, and children’s education enjoyed by expatriates working in the Chinese mainland will continue, according to a notice the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration released yesterday.

Personal income tax is China's fourth-largest tax category and is mainly levied at between 3 percent and 4.5 percent. It raised CNY902.7 billion (USD123.8 billion) for government coffers in the seven months ended July 31, down 0.6 percent from a year ago, finance ministry data showed.

In a separate announcement on the same day, the ministry and STA said other preferential tax policies will be rolled over too, including the halving of income tax on ocean-going vessel workers, tax breaks on wage earners' year-end bonuses, and some on annual income tax settlements.

The measures will ease the tax burden on working people, helping to cultivate the middle-income group and achieve the goal of common prosperity, according to experts, who added that they will also cheer employees and boost potential consumption.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Martin Kadiev