Profit squeeze, tax cuts hit Q1 revenue

The government's revenue fell 8.3 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, as the economic downturn hurt corporate profits and recent tax cuts took effect.

Revenue dropped to 1.46 trillion yuan in the first three months, 132.9 billion yuan less than the same period last year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on its website yesterday.

In March, revenue fell to 440.2 billion yuan, 1.37 billion yuan less than the same period a year ago.