BEIJING -- China's tax authorities on Friday released data on the rising number of new taxpayers in the first four months of 2021, which mirrors the country's economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data issued by the State Taxation Administration shows that 4.13 million new taxpayers were registered in the first four months, a surge of 58.5 percent from the same period last year. The rise was due to the implementation of multi-pronged measures that were taken to improve China's business environment.

In April alone, 1.34 million new taxpayers were registered, including approximately 690,000 enterprises, up 13.6 percent year-on-year, and 621,000 self-employed industrial and commercial households, up 31.1 percent year-on-year.

Value-added tax invoice data for April shows the total sales revenue of enterprises nationwide increased 24.6 percent from the same month in 2020, and 27.5 percent from the same month in 2019.

The administration will implement all preferential tax and fee policies, optimize the country's business environment and help market entities become more dynamic, said administration spokesperson Rong Hailou.