BEIJING -- China's widening value-added tax reform has resulted in a tax reduction of 93.97 billion yuan ($15.31 billion) for businesses in the first 10 months of the year, the State Administration of Taxation announced Thursday.

The expansion of VAT reform, which was implemented as part of China's structural tax cuts, has included replacing turnover tax with a VAT in the transportation industry and six service sectors since August 1.

VAT refers to a tax levied on the difference between a commodity's price before taxes and its production cost. Turnover tax refers to a levy on a business's gross revenues.

The widening VAT reform has benefited 2.47 million taxpayers as of October, according to the administration.

It expects tax reduction for the whole year to exceed 120 billion yuan.

Head of the administration Wang Jun revealed that the SAT is preparing to extend the reform to railway transport, postal services and telecommunications industries next year.