Corporate income taxes and turnover taxes paid by "non-citizen" firms in China rose 40.7 percent year on year to 22.2 billion yuan (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, the State Administration of Taxation (SAT) said Friday.

"Non-citizen" companies, in China, are different from foreign-funded firms. They are defined as those established outside China under laws of countries other than the Chinese mainland, but obtaining profits inside China.

The rise is in contrast to a fall in China's overall tax revenue. In the first half, revenue fell six percent from a year ago to 2.95 trillion yuan, while corporate income taxes dropped 13.8 percent.

The administration attributed the increase in tax during six consecutive months mainly to increased returns from non-citizen firms.

The returns included expanded coverage of turnover taxes since January 1 because of a new regulation, and the establishment of declaration systems and regulations.

Also, some preferential tax policies for non-citizen firms were cancelled last year, which increased tax revenues from dividends, bonuses, and asset transfer earnings non-citizen firms earned.

The administration has asked Chinese firms, on its behalf, to collect a 10-percent tax when paying annual dividends to non-citizen firms.

Of the 22.2 billion yuan collected from the firms, 19.45 billion yuan was in corporate income tax paid by non-citizen firms, up 50.07 percent from a year ago.

The majority, or 15.16 billion yuan, of the corporate income tax came from provincial regions such as Jiangsu, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Guangdong.

Editor: Guo Changdong Source: Xinhua