China's fiscal revenue up 3.2% in January-August

BEIJING - China's fiscal revenue increased 3.2 percent year-on-year to around 13.71 trillion yuan ($1.94 trillion) in the first eight months of 2019, official data showed Tuesday.

The central government collected about 6.6 trillion yuan during the period, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue up 2.8 percent to about 7.12 trillion yuan, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

Specifically, revenue from domestic value-added tax in the period increased 4.7 percent from one year earlier to about 4.49 trillion yuan, while that from domestic consumption tax surged 18.5 percent to 1.04 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile, revenue from individual income tax plummeted 30.1 percent year-on-year to 721.2 billion yuan in the period. Revenue from value-added tax and consumption tax on imported goods dropped 6.9 percent to 1.08 trillion yuan, while that from tariffs declined 3.3 percent, according to the ministry.

China's fiscal spending expanded 8.8 percent year-on-year to around 15.31 trillion yuan during the January-August period, MOF data showed.

The central government spent a total of 2.22 trillion yuan in the first eight months, up 8.6 percent from the same period last year, while local governments' spending grew 8.8 percent year-on-year to 13.09 trillion yuan.

Expenditure on transport boasted the fastest growth pace in the period, up 16.1 percent year-on-year, followed by that on science and technology, the ministry said.

China will maintain a proactive fiscal policy stance in 2019, with a higher deficit-to-GDP ratio to leave policy space to address potential risks.