An employee counts yuan banknotes. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China's fiscal revenue rose at a slower pace in August, dragged by a sharp decline in non-tax incomes, the Ministry of Finance said Monday.

Fiscal revenue gained 7.2 percent year-on-year to 1.07 trillion yuan ($165 billion) last month, down from the 11.1-percent growth recorded in July, the ministry said on its website.

Due to a high comparison base in August 2016, non-tax incomes dropped 22.5 percent to 174.5 billion yuan.

However, revenue from taxes surged 16 percent year-on-year to 890.7 billion yuan last month, higher than the growth rates for both the first half and July of this year.

The strong growth in taxes "is mainly driven by factors including the stabilizing economy and rising prices," the ministry said.

Income from value-added tax, which accounted for over 30 percent of fiscal revenue, jumped 19.3 percent year-on-year. Corporate income tax and personal income tax both saw strong growth last month.

In the first eight months, fiscal revenue climbed 9.8 percent to 12.14 trillion yuan.

Fiscal expenditures rose 2.9 percent year-on-year to 1.46 trillion yuan in August, slowing from 5.4 percent for July. In the first eight months, expenditure grew 13.1 percent year-on-year.

China has pledged a more proactive and effective fiscal policy in 2017 to support economic growth, with the fiscal deficit set at 3 percent of its GDP, or 2.38 trillion yuan, for the year, up 200 billion yuan from 2016.

China's GDP grew 6.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, flat with the previous quarter and above the government's annual target of around 6.5 percent.