China's fiscal revenue picks up speed in July

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China's fiscal revenue registered faster growth in July while fiscal expenditure saw a slower increase, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Friday.

Fiscal revenue gained 11.1 percent year on year to 1.65 trillion yuan (nearly 250 billion US dollars) last month, up from the 8.9-percent growth registered in June, according to the MOF.

Income from value-added tax (VAT), which accounted for over 30 percent of fiscal revenue, jumped 18.8 percent year on year. Income from corporate income tax edged up one percent due to a high base.

In the first seven months of 2017, fiscal revenue climbed 10 percent from a year earlier.

Fiscal expenditure rose 5.4 percent year on year to 1.35 trillion yuan in July, slowing from the 19.1 percent increase a month earlier. The MOF said July's deceleration was attributed to faster fund allocation than in previous months.

China's Ministry of Finance. /CFP Photo

In the first seven months, fiscal expenditure grew 14.5 percent year on year, with spending on education rising 15.3 percent and that on social security and employment up 23.5 percent.

The country's stable fiscal revenue and expenditure pointed to a resilient economy.

China has pledged a more proactive and effective fiscal policy in 2017 to support economic growth, with the government‘s fiscal deficit set at 3 percent of GDP, or 2.38 trillion yuan for the year, an increase of 200 billion yuan year on year.

A series of economic data for July will be released Monday, including fixed asset investment, industrial production and retail sales.

The country's GDP grew 6.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, flat with the previous quarter and above the government's annual growth target of around 6.5 percent.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency