The top decision-making body of the Chinese parliament said on Saturday it will roll out a pilot real estate tax in some regions.
The State Council, or Cabinet, will determine which regions will be involved and other details, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
The long-mooted and long-resisted property tax has gained new momentum since President Xi Jinping threw his support behind what experts describe as one of the most profound changes to China's real estate policies in a generation.
A tax could help red-hot home prices that have soared more than more than 2,000% since the privatisation of the housing market in the 1990s and created an affordability crisis in recent years.
But talk of the plan is coming at a sensitive time, as the property market is showing significant signs of stress and home prices have started falling in tens of cities.
The tax will apply to residential and non-residential property as well as land and property owners, but does not apply to legally owned rural landor where residences are built on it, Xinhua said.
The pilot schemes will last five years from the issue of the details from the State Council.
The idea of a levy on home owners first surfaced in 2003 but has failed to take off due to concerns that it would damage property demand, home prices, household wealth and future real estate projects.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2021.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ