The country's top legislature yesterday decided to submit the draft property law and corporate income tax law for voting at the next full session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in March.

The decision, made at the 25th session of the NPC's 10th Standing Committee, pushes the marathon legislative process of the controversial property law to the last lap after seven readings. No previous law has had more than five readings.

The property bill had its first reading in 2002 and was withdrawn from the NPC full session in March amid worries the draft might undermine the legal foundation of the socialist system public ownership.

If passed in March, it will be the country's first law to protect both public and private ownership.

Yao Hong, director of the civil law office under the NPC Law Committee, refuted worries it would undermine China's socialist market system, claiming the draft is in line with the country's Constitution.

She said although the Constitution stipulates that public ownership should be the leading force of the socialist market economy, of which the private economy is a major component, it doesn't indicate that the two ownerships should not be equally protected.

"It's obviously unfair if compensation for State-owned property is higher than that for private-owned," Yao said. "It would seriously harm the public's interests."

After discussion, the committee agreed that the latest draft, which emphasizes equal protection of State, collective and private property, takes into consideration the concerns of all parties, and decided to submit it to the NPC full session.

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