China's fiscal revenue for October reached 684.49 billion yuan (about US$100 billion), up 28.4 percent compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Finance announced Friday.

Of the total, the central government collected 380.34 billion yuan, up 37 percent year on year, while local governments collected the other 304.15 billion yuan, up 19.2 percent.

A statement on the ministry website attributed the rise in fiscal revenue in October to the recovering economy, which has helped drive up tax takes, but mainly to the low figures basis of last October.

The fiscal revenue in October was also up 22 percent compared to September's 560.94 billion yuan.

From January to October, the country's total fiscal revenue reached 5.84 trillion yuan, up 408.8 billion yuan, or 7.5 percent year on year, with the central government collecting about 54 percent of the total.

Of the main categories of tax for the year to October: consumption tax was up 83.8 percent from the same period last year; corporate income tax up 2.4 percent; individual income tax up 4.6 percent; while duty tax income was down 25.3 percent and stamp tax was also down by 57.2 percent, the statement said.

The government rolled out measures this year to spur car consumption by tax cuts and subsidies meant to help nurture the country's auto industry and encourage purchases of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

But amid weak global demand, exports dropped 13.8 percent to US$110.8 billion in October, according to the General Administration of Customs.

October is the fifth straight month this year that fiscal revenue has maintained accelerating year-on-year growth. For the first half, fiscal revenue was down 6 percent.

Meanwhile, fiscal expenditure grew at a faster pace of 23 percent year on year for the first 10 months to 4.99 trillion yuan, triple the pace of revenue growth.

The major expenditure sectors for the first 10 months included transport, up 70.7 percent mainly due to rising road maintenance costs; health care, up 26.8 percent; and education, up 16.6 percent.

Environmental protection expenditure rose by 30.75 billion yuan, up 44 percent; social welfare and unemployment benefit costs also rose by 81 billion yuan, or 16.5 percent, according to the ministry.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2009)