(Yicai) Nov. 17 -- The average tax paid by listed Chinese companies per CNY100 (USD14.09) of revenue was CNY5.60 (79 US cents) last year, or a 5.6 percent rate, continuing to decline after reaching CNY8.90 in 2015, according to a new report.

The total tax paid by 5,091 listed Chinese firms was around CNY3.97 trillion (USD559.2 billion) in 2024, roughly the same as the previous year, the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics' School of Public Finance and Taxation said in a recent report. The figure accounted for almost 23 percent of China's total tax revenue.

The decline in listed firms' tax burden aligns with the downward trend in China's overall tax take, which fell 3.4 percent to CNY17.5 trillion (USD2.46 trillion) last year from 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. The three major tax sources -- domestic value-added tax, consumption tax, and personal income tax -- all fell.

The drop in listed companies' average tax payments since 2015 is directly related to China's big tax and fee reduction policies implemented during that period, Li Jianjun, dean of the finance and taxation school, told Yicai. The ratio of taxes paid by industries with relatively high tax burdens, such as the real estate sector, has decreased, while intensified competition has led to lower corporate profits, also impacting the overall rate, Li added.

Although listed firms' output expanded last year, changes in their corporate structure and a decline in profitability led to their total tax payments slightly decreasing, Li pointed out.

Around 2 percent of the 5,091 listed companies contributed 73 percent of the total tax paid. Energy giants PetroChina and China Petroleum and Chemical, better known as Sinopec, paid over CNY300 billion (USD42.3 billion) each to rank first and second, followed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and three other state-owned commercial banks.

Companies from the mining, financial, and manufacturing industries made up 77 percent of the total tax paid by all listed Chinese firms.

Editor: Martin Kadiev