BEIJING — China's fiscal revenue fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year in the January-April period, extending the previous month's decline as the country continued to contain the COVID-19 epidemic while increasing tax relief to mitigate its impact on the economy.

The pace of decline quickened from a fall of 14.3 percent in the first quarter of the year and a 9.9 percent decrease in the first two months.

The country's fiscal revenue in the first four months of the year amounted to 6.21 trillion yuan (about $875.11 billion), according to data released by the Ministry of Finance on May 18.

Tax revenue totaled 5.31 trillion yuan, down 16.7 percent year-on-year. Revenue from value-added tax, the largest fiscal revenue source in the country, fell 24.4 percent year-on-year in the first four months.

A breakdown showed the central government collected 2.85 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue, down 17.7 percent year-on-year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue drop by 11.5 percent to 3.36 trillion yuan.

The country's economy contracted 6.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter as a result of the blow dealt by the epidemic to social and economic activities. The government unveiled a slew of measures to revive the economy — especially to small businesses — including offering tax breaks, increasing lending and lowering financing costs.

May 18's data also showed the country's fiscal spending in the first four months fell by 2.7 percent from a year earlier to 7.36 trillion yuan.