China’s fiscal revenue rose 8.2 percent year on year to reach 1.35 trillion yuan ($ 220.9 billion) in April, the Ministry of Finance announced on May 14.

In the first four months of 2015, fiscal revenue gained 5.1 percent to hit 4.99 trillion yuan. The growth was 6.3 percentage points lower than the rise seen in the same period last year.

The ministry attributed the tempering to lower global commodity prices that triggered a fall in import value, as well as slowing industrial activity.

Last month, the central government collected 628.5 billion yuan in fiscal revenue, up 8.1 percent year on year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue expand 8.2 percent to 721.7 billion yuan.

Affected by the sluggish property market, real estate business tax went down 11.9 percent year on year, and deed tax decreased 12.8 percent to 27.8 billion yuan.

In the same month, national fiscal spending expanded 33.2 percent from a year ago to 1.25 trillion yuan, with spending on transportation surging 57.8 percent.

The slower fiscal revenue growth came as China’s year-on-year economic growth in the first quarter registered 7 percent, the lowest quarterly growth rate since 2009.

Premier Li Keqiang, speaking at the opening of the annual parliamentary session in March, stressed that a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy would continue in 2015.

China plans to raise its budget deficit to 2.3 percent of its GDP for 2015, up from last year’s target of 2.1 percent.