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Guangzhou's financial revenues dropped 9.11% year-on-year in June, the first decline so far this year, with tax and non-tax revenues down 2.66% and 31.53%, respectively, according to Guangzhou finance chief Zhang Jieming. The decline is partially attributable to the abolishment of government review and approval fees across the Pearl River Delta. Eight government agencies in Guangzhou have abolished administrative fees on 22 review and approval processes, which are expected to reduce the city's financial revenues by approximately RMB 170 million this year.
Mr. Zhang said that due to the impact of various factors, the growth rate of the city's financial revenues has been declining moderately over the past five months after hitting a record level. The growth rate of the five half of this year is 18.94 percentage points lower than that of the first quarter, and due to the abolishment of certain administrative fees, non-tax revenues decreased by RMB 90 million.
Mr. Zhang attributed the decline of financial revenues in June to high benchmarks for comparison. In the first half of 2009, due to the impact of the domestic and global economic situation, the growth rate of Guangzhou's financial revenues remained low in the first several months and the picked up in the later months of the period. The steadily rising benchmark is a major cause of the "first high and then low" growth rate so far this year. In addition, policies aimed at stimulating domestic consumption by lowering VATs have resulted in a reduction of approximately 300 million in Guangzhou's VAT revenues. Furthermore, the city's VAT exemptions in the first half of the year amounted to RMB 425 million. All these factors have contributed to Guangzhou's decreased financial revenues in June. Source: english.gz.gov.cn |
