Latest statistics from China's Ministry of Finance show that fiscal revenue in July reached RMB 2.0273 trillion (approximately MYR 1.19 trillion), a year-on-year increase of 2.6%, marking the highest single-month total this year and simultaneously pulling cumulative revenue from January to July into positive territory with a growth rate of 0.1% year-on-year.
According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, as reported by Caixin on the 20th, national general public budget revenue (fiscal revenue under the narrow definition) in July was RMB 2.0273 trillion, a 2.6% year-on-year increase. The revenue boost in July raised cumulative revenue for January to July to RMB 13.58 trillion (about MYR 7.99 trillion), a year-on-year increase of a modest 0.1%, marking this year's first shift from negative to positive growth.
The report notes that July's revenue growth was mainly driven by tax revenue: single-month tax revenue in July was RMB 1.8018 trillion (MYR 1.06 trillion), a 5% year-on-year increase—the fastest monthly growth this year. Non-tax revenue reached RMB 225.5 billion (MYR 132.67 billion), a sharp decrease of 12.9%, and has posted negative growth for three consecutive months.
According to Yicai, national general public budget revenue consists of tax revenue and non-tax revenue, with tax revenue also being known as the “barometer of the economy.” In the first half of this year, tax revenue growth lagged behind overall economic growth. Hu Jinglin, Commissioner of the State Taxation Administration, explained that this was mainly due to tax cuts and fee reductions, price changes, and shifts in the tax base structure.
The report also mentions that the real estate market remains generally weak. From January to July this year, both land value-added tax and deed tax income posted double-digit declines. Amid complex external trade conditions, revenues from import value-added tax, consumption tax, and tariffs also declined. However, thanks to an active stock market, securities transaction stamp duty revenue from January to July jumped 62.5% year-on-year.
Apart from national general public budget revenue, the government-managed fund revenue—mainly from local government land sales—is an important part of broadly defined fiscal revenue. Affected by the overall sluggish real estate and land markets, land transfer revenue continued to fall, though the pace of decline has narrowed. This is attributed to top-tier cities releasing high-quality land parcels that have prompted firms to compete actively in bidding.