China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday reported the country's fiscal revenue last month had dropped by 0.3 percent from October last year to 532.9 billion yuan (US$78.04 billion).

The ministry attributed the decline to the slow-down in economic growth and declining enterprise profits.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth eased to 9.9 percent in the first three quarters of this year, down 2.3 percentage points from the same period last year.

However, the country still saw fiscal revenue top 5.4 trillion yuan in the first 10 months, up 22.6 percent.

The MOF said government expenditure also increased in the first ten months, reaching about 4.06 trillion yuan, up 24.5 percent.

The State Council, or Cabinet, on Sunday unveiled a 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package to spur economic growth.

The government also announced a nationwide reform of the value-added tax (VAT) regime, which would cut fiscal revenue and ease business burdens by more than 120 billion yuan, from the start of next year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2008)