国内英语新闻:China's fiscal revenue up 33 pct in first two months

BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- China saw a 32.9 percent growth year-on-year in fiscal revenue in the first two months of the year due to factors including rising tax revenue following continued economic recovery, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Sunday.

Fiscal revenue for January and February combined reached more than 1.36 trillion yuan (about 200.05 billion U.S. dollars), the MOF said in a statement posted on its website.

Of the total, the central fiscal revenue topped 702.7 billion yuan, up 36 percent from the same period in 2009, while local governments raked in 657.61 billion yuan, up 29.7 percent.

Fiscal revenue in January was 865.9 billion yuan, up 41.2 year on year and exceeding February's 494.5 billion yuan.

The statement said the big difference in fiscal revenue between the past two months was resultant because a nationwide seven-day Spring Festival occurred in February, leading to fewer working days in the month.

The MOF attributed the fast fiscal revenue growth to the continuing economic recovery in China which boosted tax revenue, and a low comparison base in the first two months last year, when revenue was down 11.4 percent due to the financial crisis.

China's National Bureau of Statistics released figures last Thursday which showed in January and February, the country's industrial output grew 20.7 percent, and retail sales of consumer goods rose 17.9 percent, while the urban fixed assets investment leapt 26.6 percent, and import and export in general trade soared by 52.1 percent.