Chinese lawmakers have urged the government to cut taxes for small and medium-sized enterprises to encourage those companies to invest more in research and development and raise employees' incomes.

Zong Qinghou, chairman and CEO of Hangzhou Wahaha Group and a deputy of the National People's Congress, said that Chinese manufacturing companies, especially SMEs, face many challenges, with the heavy taxation burden topping the list.

"The current tax for SMEs should be reduced by at least 5 percent. For the companies, the reduced tax can be used to boost R&D sectors or raise the incomes of employees, which is beneficial to the sound and sustainable development of companies," said the 68-year-old beverage tycoon, the richest man on the mainland with a net worth of 82 billion yuan ($13.2 billion), according to the Hurun Global Rich List for 2013.