Revenues down 17% in January

The government's revenue fell 17.1 percent from a year earlier in January, as the economic downturn hurt corporate profits and recent tax cuts took effect.

Revenue fell to 613.16 billion yuan in January, the Ministry of Finance said on its website yesterday. The central government received 296.48 billion yuan in January, down 28.4 percent from a year earlier, while local governments chalked up 316.68 billion yuan, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue had increased 19 percent during 2008.