China's Fiscal Revenue Rises 55.8% in Dec.

China's fiscal revenue for last December reached 508.4 billion yuan (74.45 billion U.S. dollars), up 55.8 percent year on year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Friday.

Of the total, the central fiscal revenue topped 183.1 billion yuan, up 140 percent from December 2008, while local governments collected 325.3 billion yuan, up 30.2 percent, the MOF said in a statement on its official website.

The ministry attributed the robust revenue growth to a relatively low comparison basis in December 2008, surging consumption tax takes after the oil tax and fees reforms, and rising business tax boosted by a strong domestic property market.

Overall fiscal revenue last year topped 6.85 trillion yuan, up 11.7 percent from 2008, according to the statement.

Tax revenue rose 9.8 percent last year from 2008 to 5.95 trillion yuan.Consumption tax was up 85.3 percent, with business tax up 18.2 percent year on year.

Fiscal revenue in China includes taxes as well as administrative fees and other government income, such as fines and income from state-owned assets.

Meanwhile, fiscal expenditure nationwide grew 17.1 percent to 1.96 trillion yuan in December year on year.

Fiscal expenditure rose 21.2 percent to 7.59 trillion yuan in 2009 year on year.