China's general public budget revenue down 2.6 pct in Jan-Aug

China

China's general public budget revenue down 2.6 pct in Jan-Aug

2024-09-21 19:51 Last Updated At：09-22 15:07

China's general public budget revenue dropped 2.6 percent year on year to nearly 14.78 trillion yuan (around 2.10 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of 2024, according to the data released by the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

Excluding the special factors like tax reduction policies, the revenue increased around 1 percent year on year, said the ministry.

The central government collected around 6.54 trillion yuan in revenue, down 6.2 percent year on year, while local governments saw revenue edge up 0.4 percent to over 8.24 trillion yuan.

Specifically, the domestic value-added tax (VAT) exceeded 4.59 trillion yuan, down 4.9 percent year on year in the eight months, while the excise tax exceeded 1.13 trillion yuan, up 4.2 percent year on year.

The corporate income tax approached 3.14 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5 percent, while the individual income tax reached 968.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 5.2 percent.

The VAT and excise tax on imports exceeded 1.26 trillion yuan, up 1.8 percent year on year, while tariffs reached 163.4 billion yuan, down 2.7 percent year on year.

China's general public budget spending expanded 1.5 percent year on year to nearly 17.39 trillion yuan in the eight months, according to the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

Specifically, various sectors registered growth in the spending, including that in social security and employment, which increased 3.3 percent year on year to exceed 2.82 trillion yuan.

The spending in education exceeded 2.56 trillion yuan, up 0.5 percent year on year, while nearly 1.50 trillion yuan in agriculture, forestry and water conservancy, up 5.4 percent year on year, and about 1.30 trillion yuan in urban and rural communities.

General public budget revenue refers to income for government finance through participation in the distribution of social products. It is the financial guarantee to ensure the functioning of government.

General public budget spending refers to the allocation of funds raised by the national fiscal authorities to meet the needs of economic construction and various undertakings.

Iranian foreign minister says situation "fully under control," accuses Israeli intelligence of stoking unrest

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that the situation in Iran is "under total control" following violence linked to protests that spiked over the weekend.

Addressing foreign diplomats in Tehran, the foreign minister noted that armed terrorist groups had infiltrated the protests, attempting to divert them from their legitimate course. He claimed that evidence has been gathered showing Iranian security forces being shot at, with the aim of causing further casualties. He accused the United States and Israel of exploiting the unrest to interfere in Iran's internal affairs.

Araghchi further stated that the government is closely monitoring developments on the streets, emphasizing that "the situation has come under control." He also affirmed that internet services, curtailed during the unrest, would be restored after coordination with security agencies.

The government has engaged in dialogue with merchants and protest representatives and initiated reforms to address grievances related to price hikes and currency depreciation. Iran has taken a series of actions and measures to respond to the demands of peaceful demonstrators, the foreign minister said.

Earlier on Sunday, Araghchi said that clear evidence links recent riots and vandalism of public facilities in Iran to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. This came after former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned Mossad agents operating on Iran's streets in a social media post. The Iranian foreign minister asserted that police are being attacked by "terrorists" acting under the direction of Israeli operatives, whom Pompeo publicly acknowledged.

The protests initially erupted over a sharp depreciation of the rial and sweeping subsidy reforms. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign-linked agents and U.S. sanctions.