Economics
China Faces Bigger Deficit as Covid Costs Soar and Income Dips
- Fiscal income from taxes and fees drops 41% on year in April
- Land sale revenue drops almost 38% to the lowest since 2017
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China’s government finances worsened measurably in April as Covid spread, with government spending rising to help pay for the cost of Covid Zero policies and income slumping due to tax breaks to help affected businesses.
Government income from taxes and fees was 1.23 trillion yuan ($182 billion) in April, according to a Bloomberg calculations based on official data, 41% down on April 2021. For the first four months of the year income was 7.43 trillion yuan, down 4.8% from the same period last year, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.