China's tax revenue hit a new high in 2006, with the total amount surging 21.9 percent year on year to 3.7636 trillion yuan (US$470.5 billion), said the State Administration of Taxation on Monday.

The figure does not include the income from tariffs, tax on arable land use and that paid by real estate buyers, the administration said on its website.

The country's tax revenue exceeded three trillion yuan for the first time in 2005, with a total amount of 3.0866 trillion yuan, up 20 percent from 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2007)