THE Ministry of Finance announced yesterday that tax revenue, a major source of the government's fiscal income, grew at a slower pace in the first half of this year.

During the January-June period, the government collected 5.93 trillion yuan (US$961 billion) in tax revenue, up 7.9 percent year on year but slower than the 9.8-percent rise seen in the same period last year, data show.

The revenue from value-added tax, a type of tax levied on the difference between a commodity's retail price and production cost, increased 6.6 percent to 1.43 trillion yuan, down 1.5 percentage points from the growth seen in the first half of 2012.

The subdued growth in VAT revenue was due to slower expansion in industrial added-value, falling prices, a persisting downturn in markets for some raw materials and energy products, as well as structural tax cuts, according to the ministry.

Consumption tax revenue rose 3.6 percent YOY to 435.35 billion yuan, 8.1 percentage points lower than the growth rate for the same period last year.

But the ministry noted fast expansion in tax revenue for turnover tax, especially in the real estate sector and the construction industry, due to warming property transactions. In the first six months, turnover tax revenue grew 12.9 percent to 884.51 billion yuan, compared with a 9.6-percent increase in the first half of 2012. Turnover tax from the property sector and the construction industry surged 45.7 percent and 18 percent YOY, respectively.

The revenue growth for corporate income tax also slowed, with the category's total tax revenue up 14.2 percent to 1.5 trillion yuan, while revenue from personal income tax broke through the decline seen in the same period last year, rising 11 percent to 363.08 billion yuan.

The ministry attributes the fast growth in personal income tax revenues to higher disposable personal incomes and rising transaction prices in second-hand home sales.