The Chinese government's fiscal revenue in the first five months of 2009 reached 2.7 trillion yuan (400 billion U.S. dollars), down 6.7 percent from the same period of last year, Finance Minister Xie Xuren said Wednesday.

Xie revealed the figure in a report to the ninth session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

Of the total, the central government collected about 1.4 trillion yuan, down 14 percent. This accounted for 39.6 percent of the annual budget.

Local governments collected the other 1.3 trillion yuan, up 2.9 percent, which accounted for 42.4 percent of the annual budget.

Xie cited four factors for the drop in fiscal revenues: a fall in international trade due to the global economic downturn; a fall in revenue value relative to the consumer price index and producer price index; structural tax reduction polices and a slowdown in China's economic growth.

Structural tax reduction policies reduced taxes by about 230 billion yuan in the first five months, according to the report.

He said in the first five months, fiscal expenditure nationwide amounted to almost 2.25 trillion yuan, up 27.8 percent over the same period last year, accounting for 29.5 percent of the budgeted figure.

Central government expenditure totaled 459.3 billion yuan, up 21.4 percent, while local governments spent 1.79 trillion yuan, up29.5 percent, he said.

The funding went mainly to expanding public investment, increasing subsidies for low-income groups, ensuring sufficient money for education, health, social security, employment, basic housing and culture, and supporting technological innovation, energy conservation and emission reduction.

Xie stressed that the government would continue to ensure the stable growth of investment and actively implement structural tax reduction policies to ease the burden on business and consumers. Doing so would encourage companies to invest and individuals to consume.

"Efforts should be made to boost revenues and cut spending," he said, calling for frugality and strict control of expenditures by reducing government vehicle purchases, reception fees and official travel.

He said: "The construction of government and Party committee buildings should be rigidly limited."

The government would promote the scientific and meticulous management of public finances, boost efficiency and deepen fiscal system reform, he said, adding that resource tax reform would be advanced and the consumption tax system would be adjusted.

Xie said the outstanding national debt reached 5.3 trillion yuan at the end of last year, which was within the 5.5-trillion-yuan limit in the annual budget.

The government's fiscal revenue reached about 6.13 trillion yuan last year, 19.5 percent more than in 2007.

Xie said the central fund for reconstruction from last year's May 12 earthquake reached 74 billion yuan and expenditures were 69.77 billion yuan last year.

This year, the central budget allocated 130 billion yuan for reconstruction work.