The State Administration of Taxation has for the first time released a report on the country's tax contributors last year. The 500 biggest tax payers handed in over 2.7 trillion yuan, accounting for 22% of the total tax collected by the government.

116 companies made first-time appearances on the list, most of them are in finance and manufacturing. Tax paid by insurance and securities companies grew the most, by 220% and 144% respectively.

The report also points out new tax growth areas in telecommunications equipment, IT and pharmaceutical industries.

74 private companies also made the list, and their tax payment increased by over 30 percent year on year. The bulk of the contributions came from eastern China, where most of these companies are based.