BEIJING - China's tax revenues continued expanding rapidly in the first quarter, but growth slowed amid the country's macro control measures meant to check soaring prices, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday.

The country's total tax revenues rose 573.63 billion yuan ($87.91 billion), or 32.4 percent, over the previous year to 2.3439 trillion yuan in the first quarter of 2011, the MOF said in a statement on its website.

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The growth rate in the first three months of this year was 3.5 percentage points slower than during same period last year, while the growth in March was 10.3 percentage points slower than the January-February period, according to the statement.

The MOF attributed the rapid growth of tax revenues in the first quarter to a sound economy, fast growth in imports and soaring price levels.

Value-added taxes, consumption taxes and sales taxes, which all jumped more than 21 percent year-on-year, contributed to about 40.6 percent of the tax revenue growth in the first quarter.

Income taxes rose more than 37 percent in the first quarter, accounting for more than one-fourth of the revenue growth.

Tax revenues contributed to about 90 percent of China's fiscal revenue, which surged 33.1 percent over the previous year to 2.61 trillion yuan during the first quarter.