Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Tax revenue growth slows in 2008

By Wang Xu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-20 19:29

China's tax revenue growth slowed in 2008 as the economic downturn hurt corporate profitability and the property market slumped.

Related readings:  China Jan-Nov tax revenue at 5.2 trillion yuan  Beijing property tax revenue drops 10%  China's tax revenue growth slows in July

The nation's total tax revenue amounted to 541.96 billion yuan, up 18.8 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Finance said on its website. That compares with a 33.7 percent tax revenue growth in 2007, when the nation’s economy expanded more than 13 percent.

The nation's tax revenue growth slowed drastically in the second half, because of the impact of the export slowdown and the government's moves to cut taxes to spur the economy, the finance ministry said.

For example, corporate income tax, which is collected according to profits, increased 27.3 percent from a year earlier in the second half of 2008. Corporate income tax grew 37.9 percent in 2007.

Meanwhile, the slump in the housing market also dented the government's tax revenue. Funds raised from deed tax only grew 8.4 percent in 2008, 31 percentage points lower than in 2007.