SHANGHAI has started to cut taxes for high-technology companies based in the Zhangjiang High-tech Park and ease administrative approval procedures for land use in the zone to boost innovation, officials said yesterday.

Employees of high-tech firms in the zone can pay income tax on equity incentives by installments over five years under a new tax program. The high-tech firms in the zone can also make more pre-tax deductions to cover research and development spending on new drugs as well as insurance fees they pay for employees. The tax program, unveiled by the State Administration of Taxation in April, also covers Beijing's Zhongguancun Science Park and two similar parks in Hubei and Anhui provinces.