China's May fiscal revenue rises 7.2%

BEIJING - China's fiscal revenue continued to grow in May amid economic stabilization, rising 7.2 percent year on year to reach 1.37 trillion yuan ($222.74 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

Central government revenue reached 749.4 billion yuan, up 4.5 percent year on year, while local government revenue stood at 617.6 billion yuan, up 10.7 percent from the same period last year.

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In the first five months, China's fiscal revenue climbed 8.8 percent year on year to 6.12 trillion yuan, the ministry said in a report.

The ministry said the rise in fiscal income is in line with the economic stabilizing trend. However, growth still faces downward pressure in the coming months due to economic challenges, VAT tax reform and a large base figure from last year.

China's economy grew 7.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, still the highest of all major economies but below the full-year target of 7.5 percent. The Chinese authorities have repeatedly called for efforts to secure the yearly goal.

Hurt by a cooling property sector, revenues from the income tax of property firms continued negative growth in May, dropping 2.5 percent to 53.1 billion yuan.

The country's fiscal expenditures in the first five months outpaced fiscal income, rising 12.9 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said.

Expenditures on projects to improve people's livelihood such as community building, medical care and social security recorded double-digit growth.