BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's fiscal revenue climbed 5.3 percent year on year in August to reach 1.2 trillion yuan (177.54 billion U.S. dollars), official data showed Friday.

In the first eight months, fiscal revenue totaled 12.68 trillion yuan, down 7.5 percent year on year, narrowing from a decline of 8.7 percent in the first seven months, according to data by the Ministry of Finance.

Tax revenue in the January-August period fell 7.6 percent from a year earlier to reach 10.82 trillion yuan. Revenue from value-added tax, the largest fiscal revenue source of the country, fell 15.2 percent year on year.

A breakdown showed the central government collected nearly 5.93 trillion yuan in fiscal revenue during the eight-month period, down 10.1 percent year on year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue drop by 5.1 percent to about 6.75 trillion yuan.

Friday's data also showed the country's fiscal spending fell 2.1 percent from a year earlier to nearly 15 trillion yuan during the eight-month period.

In August, fiscal spending expanded 8.7 percent year on year as local governments stepped up implementation of major projects, the ministry said.