Chinese farmers' tax burden fell 62 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of this year, a quarterly report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Thursday said.

A sample survey on 68,000 rural households in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions around China showed that the per capital tax burden of Chinese farmers stood at 8.5 yuan (about 1.05 US dollars) during the period, down 62 percent.

The average per capita agricultural tax came to 1.7 yuan (0.29 dollars), down 89.6 percent year-on-year.

The NBS report said that farmers' average cash income rose 11.5 percent to 2,450 yuan (303 dollars), after deducting price increase factors. The growth rate remains at the same level as in the same period of 2004.

Source: Xinhua