Specials
China mulls levying property tax
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-07-23 15:51
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Editor's Note: Property tax is expected to boost the coffers of local governments and will also help curb realty speculation by increasing the holding costs.
In May, the central government approved the guidelines submitted by the National Development and Reform Commission for systematic reform of the economy. Prominent among the proposals was the clause to "gradually push the reform of the tax on the holding of properties". [Share your views]
Property tax rollout on the cards
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A worker balances on scaffoldings at a construction site in Beijing May 20, 2010.[Photo/Agencies] |
China plans to start implementing a property tax in two or three years on a trial basis, a source from the Ministry of Finance told China Daily.
The National Business Daily had earlier reported that the property tax might be rolled out in several cities under a pilot program in 2012.
But the ministry source indicated that it was still not clear whether the trials would start in 2012 as the government had chalked out a three-year time frame for launching the program.
The property tax program would be tested in some cities before it is implemented on nationwide basis, the source said. Full story
China said to start levying property tax in 2012
China looks set to start levying property tax in 2012 on a trial basis, sources from the Ministry of Finance said. Full story
Earlier reports
China to reform resource and property taxes
No property taxes for now: Official
Push for property tax gears up
Senior officials are pushing to implement property tax amid intensified efforts by the authorities to rein in soaring housing prices to promote a healthy and stable real estate market. Full story
Local govts await approval for property tax
China's central government is considering selecting two cities from Hunan and Hubei provinces, respectively, for a pilot program for property tax collection on commercial real estate, China Securities Journal reported recently. Full story
Shanghai: Property tax plan waits approval
Shanghai has submitted the draft plan of property tax to the central government for approval, the China Securities Journal reported. Full story
Beijing: Taxman targets multiple-home owners
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Above and below: The sales center of a new property outside Beijing's Fifth Ring Road is almost empty on May 2, two days after some tough property policies were issued to curb the city's skyrocketing housing prices. [Zou Hong / China Daily] |
Beijing is considering a tax on luxury properties or the owners of more than two houses. Such a move, which would be implemented in the second half of the year, would follow the April 30 issuance of property polices that have been called the toughest in the city's history. Full story
Tax on vacant homes proposed in Beijing
Housing experts have suggested that Beijing impose a special tax on vacant homes, in order to lower the city's vacancy rate and provide more houses to people who are in need. Full story
Investors cool to property curbs
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Kenneth Rogoff, economics professor at Harvard University, participates in a panel discussion at the 2010 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January. [Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg] |
China bond investors are betting government measures to cool property prices won't hurt real estate companies as money managers and economists warn of a crash that may slow the economy leading global growth. Full story
Tightening property policies to continue
The country will continue its tightening policies for the property sector, even as housing prices in June saw the first monthly fall since February last year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on Monday. Full story
China's housing prices grow slower in June
Housing prices in major Chinese cities rose 11.4 percent year-on-year in June, one percentage point lower than the increase in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. Full story
Roof comes off real estate scams
With housing prices soaring annually in recent years, more would-be buyers are becoming the victims of crimes connected to cheating in the real estate sector, according to an investigation by the People's Procuratorate of Beijing released on July 10. Full story
Real estate support to stay
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A migrant worker looks at a housing development under construction in Beijing. Property prices in 70 Chinese cities rose by a record 12.8 percent in April from a year earlier after climbing by 11.7 percent in March and 10.7 percent in February. Jin Guo / for China Daily |
It's not yet time for China to reduce or stop policy support for the nation's real estate industry, said Li Fuan, an official with the China Banking Regulatory Commission. Full story
China to enforce house tax more strictly
China will collect house- and land-price appreciation taxes more "strictly" after the government released more-detailed tax rules Wednesday, the Shanghai Securities News reported. Full story
Many property buyers 'delaying' their purchases
The series of strict measures rolled out by the authorities to rein in soaring property prices over the past month seem to have only delayed purchases by potential buyers in most urban areas, latest statistics have showed. Full story
Beijing: Buyer's hunt for real estate discounts
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 Apartments spring up in downtown Beijing. The city has witnessed a widespread drop in real estate prices following the regulatory policy released in April. WANG JING / CHINA DAILY |
For the first time in a year, Liu Long, 26, thinks he may consider purchasing an apartment in Beijing, despite the fact that the average price is still rising. Full story
Shenzhen: Pricey property keeps skills away
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Employees work on a communications equipment assembly line at a ZTE Corp factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. Skilled blue-collar workers are vitally important to Shenzhen's development, but the high cost of housing prevents many from staying in the city. [Bloomberg] |
Over one month after the Chinese government launched property tightening policies, the average housing price in Shenzhen has remained unchanged though the sales volume fell sharply. In the meantime, analysts warned that high housing prices would discourage highly skilled staff from working in Shenzhen. Full story
Shanghai: More strict property measures ahead
Authorities are working on detailed rules to cool down the property market in Shanghai, which will be more strict than central government policies, a municipal official said. Full story
Ease tax burden
Housing, healthcare and old age pension are a big worry for most people today. The middle class, despite earning just about enough, is burdened with individual income tax. To narrow the income distribution, more taxes should be imposed on the super-rich groups and low-income people should be allowed tax deductions for the money they spent on education, healthcare, insurance and old age pension. Full story
How to reduce tax burden
Since the tax burden of ordinary people and enterprises in competitive industries is relatively heavy - second in the world, according to Forbes - tax reform should be aimed at reducing people's burden and channeling some of the profits back to the people. Full story
Where's the big real estate bubble?
There is no real estate bubble in China. Rising property prices reflect the basic law of economics. Different from the supply-demand relationship of ordinary commodities, supply in the real estate sector is always subject to strict controls in terms of urban planning, land supply, building and planning targets, while demand can at most be influenced by fiscal and monetary policies. Full story
Economists call for diversified housing supply system
Stricter loan requirements might lead to a weakened property market and price decline in the short term, but more diversified types of housing is the solution to China's property market dilemma, economists say. Full story
Affordable homes best solution for property market
Although talk of a possible property tax delay was denied by the country's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), there is convincing evidence that top-level officials do realize the potential side effects of their ongoing campaign.
Their original intention was to cool down runaway house prices, not to bring transactions to a virtual halt; and to help the economy avoid an imminent asset bubble, not to let it fall short of its yearly growth target. Full story
Balancing growth and realty prices
Why have prices risen so sharply and what could be done about it? Full story
Experts call for narrowing of wealth gap
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A woman pushes her bicycle past a Gucci store in Shanghai. The Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality commonly used by economists and institutions, reached o.47 in China in 2005, overtaking the recognized warning level of 0.4, according to the World Bank. [Kevin lee/ Bloomberg] |
More practical measures are needed to curb the widening wealth gap in China as the country's income disparity continues to be a major source of public concern, experts said. Full story
Earlier special coverage on housing: