China's fiscal revenue growth continued to slow in the first quarter, mainly as a result of the country's tempered economic expansion, structural tax reforms and slowing imports, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.
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The nation's fiscal revenue grew 6.9 percent year-on-year to 3.2 trillion yuan ($513 billion) in the first quarter, slowing from the 14.7-percent rate seen in the same period last year, the ministry said in a statement.
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In 2012, China's fiscal revenue saw a rise of 12.8 percent.
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The ministry attributed the slower growth to tepid economic strength, ongoing tax breaks, slowing imports and the high comparison base of last year.
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In the first three months, the central government collected 1.46 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, down 0.2 percent year-on- year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue expand 13.7 percent to 1.74 trillion yuan on the back of robust transactions in the housing market, the ministry said.
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Of the total fiscal revenue, tax income totalled 2.74 trillion yuan, up 6 percent from a year earlier, but the growth rate was down 4.3 percentage points from the same period in 2012.
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Fiscal revenue in China includes taxes, administrative fees and other government income, including fines and earnings from State-owned assets.
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The country's fiscal spending climbed 12.1 percent year on year to 2.7 trillion yuan in the first quarter, according to MOF.Â