China's tax revenue reached 1.1 trillion yuan (US$147 billion) in the first quarter of 2007, up a hefty 230 billion yuan -- or 25.5 percent -- on the same period last year, said the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) on Friday.

 

With the national economy performing robustly and expected to grow no less than 10.5 percent in the first quarter, the industrial sector chipped in 310.2 billion yuan in value-added tax, up 19.7 percent on the same period last year, said SAT official Shu Qiming.

 

Tax from the real estate industry jumped 35.3 percent in the first quarter, with investment in the sector, frequently cited as one of the engines of the country's economic growth, rising 24.3 percent in the January-March period.

 

With Chinese companies reporting higher profits, the country's tax revenue from foreign-invested enterprises, domestic enterprises and individuals amounted to 283.6 billion yuan in the first three months, an increase of 26 percent on the same period last year.

 

The stock market frenzy saw stamp duties on stock trading grow to 12.2 billion yuan in the first quarter, a 516 percent rise year on year.

 

Chinese investors opened 4.79 million new accounts for China's A-share stock exchanges in the first quarter in a race to cash in on the bullish equity markets, which was a 56 percent increase from the 3.08 million in the whole of 2006.

 

Increased revenues from import duties and motor vehicle purchase taxes also contributed to the growth, the SAT figures show.

 

The Chinese customs collected 141.9 billion yuan of import duties in the first quarter, up 27 percent from the same period last year.

 

The growth in import, driven by domestic demands, was a notable positive factor behind the increasing tax revenues, said Zhang Peisen, an analyst with the research arm of the SAT.

 

The country's imports increased 14.5 percent to US$76.6 billion in March this year, dragging down the trade surplus by 38 percent year on year, compared with US$11.2 billion for March in 2006.

 

Zhang noticed that the country's new measure requiring high-income earners to file personal income tax returns might have helped a bit in ensuring more tax revenue.

 

He also disclosed that the government would initiate reforms of value-added tax in July, which was one of the major sources of the country's tax revenue.

 

Growing tax revenue would certainly help satisfy the needs for funds in such sectors as agriculture and education, which have been the great concerns of the government, Zhang told Xinhua.

 

The SAT official said strict implementation of tax policies had also played a role increasing tax revenue.

 

He said that the country gathered 8.8 billion yuan of value-added tax on land use in the first quarter, an 85 percent rise from the same period last year.

 

The administration retrieved 38.64 billion yuan in tax revenue in 2006through cracking down on tax-related illegal activities, such as tax evasion and forging value-added tax invoices.

 

Tax revenues from the economically-developed eastern and central parts of China rose 24.9 percent and 24.6 percent to hit 792 billion yuan and 176 billion yuan respectively, while taxes from the underdeveloped west jumped by 30 percent to reach 160 billion yuan.

 

The east region accounted for 70.2 percent of the country's total tax revenue for the first quarter, the central region 15.6 percent, and the west 14.2 percent.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2007)