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Property tax program trial may be expanded
Source: Xinhua |
November 13, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The Chinese government is "actively studying" an expansion of its experimental property tax program, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin said yesterday.
Jiang told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing CPC National Congress in Beijing that there would be no relaxation of current restrictions on home purchases in the short term.
Even though the recent rebound in house transaction volume did not pose a serious problem, the ministry is on high alert if both transaction volume and home prices increase substantially, Jiang said.
Jiang's remarks came as signs of warming emerged in the property market after the central bank cut benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio earlier this year.
Housing sales rose 5.6 percent year on year to 4.63 trillion yuan (US$735 billion) in the first 10 months, accelerating by 2.9 percentage points from the January-September period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The government has repeatedly reiterated its firm stance on property market control and vowed to keep in place tightening measures such as a prohibition on third-home purchases, higher down payment requirements and property tax trials.
Last year, Shanghai and Chongqing were chosen to test the property tax program.
However, there have been concerns over the impact of the cooling property sector on the broad economy, as property investment accounts for about 13 percent of China's gross domestic output and a fifth of its fixed-asset investment. Some local authorities have "fine-tuned" their property policies by allowing home buyers to borrow more from public housing funds, reducing taxes and fees or subsidizing home purchases.
The central government is "always ready" to take counter-measures if some cities readjust the property control policies without authorization, Jiang said. The minister also said the construction of around 6 million affordable housing units would start next year.
China is engaged in building more than 7 million government-subsidized units this year as part of its five-year plan to construct 36 million such affordable homes by 2015.
"We haven't encountered major financial problems concerning the project," he said, adding that the government would keep a vigilant eye on the issue.
Jiang told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing CPC National Congress in Beijing that there would be no relaxation of current restrictions on home purchases in the short term.
Even though the recent rebound in house transaction volume did not pose a serious problem, the ministry is on high alert if both transaction volume and home prices increase substantially, Jiang said.
Jiang's remarks came as signs of warming emerged in the property market after the central bank cut benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio earlier this year.
Housing sales rose 5.6 percent year on year to 4.63 trillion yuan (US$735 billion) in the first 10 months, accelerating by 2.9 percentage points from the January-September period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The government has repeatedly reiterated its firm stance on property market control and vowed to keep in place tightening measures such as a prohibition on third-home purchases, higher down payment requirements and property tax trials.
Last year, Shanghai and Chongqing were chosen to test the property tax program.
However, there have been concerns over the impact of the cooling property sector on the broad economy, as property investment accounts for about 13 percent of China's gross domestic output and a fifth of its fixed-asset investment. Some local authorities have "fine-tuned" their property policies by allowing home buyers to borrow more from public housing funds, reducing taxes and fees or subsidizing home purchases.
The central government is "always ready" to take counter-measures if some cities readjust the property control policies without authorization, Jiang said. The minister also said the construction of around 6 million affordable housing units would start next year.
China is engaged in building more than 7 million government-subsidized units this year as part of its five-year plan to construct 36 million such affordable homes by 2015.
"We haven't encountered major financial problems concerning the project," he said, adding that the government would keep a vigilant eye on the issue.
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