(Yicai) June 23 -- China’s fiscal revenue rose to a record high in the first five months, surpassing the CNY10 trillion (USD1.5 trillion) mark for the first time in the period, as higher prices and a more active stock market boosted tax collections, according to the latest data.

The country’s general public budget revenue jumped 4 percent from January to May year on year to CNY10 trillion (USD1.5 trillion), surpassing the previous high of CNY9.97 trillion recorded in the same period in 2023, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance yesterday.

Tax revenue, which makes up the bulk of government income, climbed 4.4 percent over the period to CNY8.3 trillion (USD1.2 trillion). This is significantly faster than last year’s full-year growth of 0.8 percent and higher than the 2.9 percent growth target outlined in this year’s central budget report. Non-tax revenue advanced 2.2 percent to CNY1.8 trillion (USD265.4 billion).

The steady growth in tax revenue was mainly supported by a recovery in industrial prices. Higher global oil prices and strong demand from the artificial intelligence and new energy industries pushed China’s producer price index, which is a gauge of factory gate prices, up 3.9 percent in May from a year earlier, the fastest pace in almost four years, the National Bureau of Statistics said recently.

As industrial prices recovered, the revenue from value-added tax, the nation’s largest tax source, increased 6.2 percent to CNY3.2 trillion (USD471.8 billion) in the first five months from the same period last year, with growth steadily improving month by month, according to Ministry of Finance data.

With the stock market becoming more active, the stamp duty on securities transactions surged 89 percent in the five months ended May 31 from a year ago to CNY126.2 billion (USD18.6 billion), while personal income tax soared 12 percent to CNY737.5 billion (USD108.7 billion), the Ministry of Finance said.

Meanwhile, China’s general public budget expenditure climbed 0.8 percent over the period to CNY11.4 trillion (USD1.6 trillion), exceeding revenue by about CNY1.3 trillion (USD191.6 billion). This indicates that China has continued to maintain strong fiscal support under a proactive fiscal policy.

The budget revenue of government-managed funds, which forms part of China’s wider fiscal system, plunged 19 percent in the first five months from a year earlier to CNY1.2 trillion (USD177 billion), mainly due to the prolonged downturn in the real estate sector which dragged down local governments’ land sales income. The budget expenditure of government-managed funds tumbled 4.3 percent to CNY3.1 trillion (USD457 billion).

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor