BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's fiscal revenue fell by 14.5 percent year on year in the January-April period, extending the previous month's decline as the country continued to contain the COVID-19 epidemic while increasing tax relief to mitigate its impact on the economy.
The pace of decline quickened from a fall of 14.3 percent in the first quarter of the year and a 9.9 percent decrease in the first two months.
The country's fiscal revenue in the first four months of the year amounted to 6.21 trillion yuan (about 875.11 billion U.S. dollars), according to data released by the Ministry of Finance Monday.
Tax revenue totaled 5.31 trillion yuan, down 16.7 percent year on year. Revenue from value-added tax, the largest fiscal revenue source in the country, fell 24.4 percent year on year in the first four months.
A breakdown showed the central government collected 2.85 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, down 17.7 percent year on year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue drop by 11.5 percent to 3.36 trillion yuan.
The country's economy contracted 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter as a result of the blow dealt by the epidemic to social and economic activities. The government unveiled a slew of measures to revive the economy -- especially to small businesses -- including offering tax breaks, increasing lending and lowering financing costs.
Monday's data also showed the country's fiscal spending in the first four months fell by 2.7 percent from a year earlier to 7.36 trillion yuan.
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