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Beijing's govt revenue down 11.6% Jan-May

By Qiang Xiaoji (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-06-18 15:10

Beijing's fiscal revenue kept decreasing in the first five months of this year, the first drop ever seen in the first half of a year in more than a decade, but is predicted to grow from June, The Beijing News reported today.

Yang Xiaochao, director of Beijing finance bureau, said yesterday in a report to the municipality's legislators that the government revenue fell 11.6 percent year-on-year to 82.83 billion yuan ($12.12 billion) in the January-May period, and expenditure rose 16.1 percent to 72.74 billion yuan.

But he said the government is determined and confident to make ends meet. The bureau would further cut government spending on overseas trips, vehicles and receptions.

Related readings:  Beijing property tax revenue drops 10%  Beijing fiscal revenue tops 100 billion yuan  China's fiscal revenue up 4.8% in May

Moreover, government revenue already increased by 13.4 billion yuan in the first half of June, surpassing that for the whole month of June last year, he said. The downward trend would be reversed in the second half of the year, he added.

Beijing's government revenue had been growing at an annualized rate of more than 20 percent for 14 years in a row and first witnessed a fall in last August, the newspaper said.

An unnamed official from the finance bureau attributed the economic slowdown, tax cuts and low price levels as the underlying factors of the fall in the first five months.

Lower base number for the second half of 2008 and economic stimulus plans that may show its positive effect in the remainder of this year would make it possible for the municipal government to attain its goal of a 10-percent growth in revenue for 2009, the official said.